Last week in Sacramento, Alyssa Dykman outlined the key findings from PPIC’s 15th annual survey on Californians and K–12 education, which tracks opinions on educational quality and school funding. This month’s survey was the first ever to be conducted with a fully online methodology.
A strong majority of Californians want Governor Newsom to prioritize K–12 public education, and majorities support many of the governor’s education-related budget proposals—including the expansion of special education and full-day preschool and kindergarten. Solid majorities also support teacher strikes for higher pay.
But Californians have mixed views on charter schools: most say they are an important option for parents in low-income areas, but many express concern about charters diverting funding from traditional public schools.
Other survey highlights:
- Most Californians think the level of state funding for local public schools is not adequate.
- More than half of residents across regions say teacher salaries in their community are too low.
- Majorities of adults and likely voters would vote for a ballot measure that would amend Proposition 13 to create a “split roll” property tax system and direct some of the revenue to K–12 education.
- Many parents think the goal of K–12 public education should be to prepare students for college—but many worry about the affordability of a college education.
