Texas Association of School Boards poll shows support for public schools

(Austin) – Eighty-eight percent of Texans agree that Texas’ public schools need more money from the state, a 12-point increase from March 2004, according to a survey recently commissioned by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and conducted by Texas Poll. Only 10 percent disagree that schools need more money and 2 percent don’t know.
 
Of Texans polled who have children attending public schools, 89 percent believe Texas’ schools need more money from the state. Even an overwhelming majority of Texans 60 years of age and older—66 percent—say the state should provide more funding to schools.

Texans also say they are willing to pay higher taxes to get more funding for public schools. The Texas Poll asked if they would support higher taxes to help fund new school buildings, higher teacher salaries, and smaller classes. Responses were favorable in all categories.

In other findings:

• A majority of Texans—60 percent—also agree that Texas public schools are better than schools in other states.
• Sixty-three percent of Texans agree that Texas public schools are doing a good job educating a challenging student population.
• Most Texans—81 percent—also agree that Texas public schools are burdened with federal requirements.
• Fifty-nine percent of Texans say Texas public schools are doing an excellent or good job in preparing students to succeed, compared with 40 percent who say fair or poor.

The poll, conducted by the Texas Poll in July 2010 for TASB, surveyed 1,000 adult Texans by phone in a random sample of active phone exchanges statewide.

For a full report on the survey Click Here