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HARRISBURG, PA (March 21, 2024) – Among the over 700 people surveyed, more registered Pennsylvania voters oppose than approve “giving taxpayer dollars to parents to pay for tuition at private or religious K-12 schools,” according to a new poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling & Research for the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA).
The poll also shows much stronger support for “investing in community schools” over providing funding for students to attend private or religious schools.
“This poll confirms what we have been saying for a while now. Pennsylvania voters want to see their tax dollars invested in the public schools that are at the center of their communities,” PSEA President Aaron Chapin said.
“We shouldn’t even think about sending taxpayer money to private and religious schools when our focus should be on fixing our unconstitutional public school funding system and addressing the needs of our 1.7 million public school students.”
‘Have you heard?’
According to the poll, a large majority of Pennsylvania voters report seeing or hearing about “proposals to allow parents to send their students to a private or religious K-12 school at taxpayers’ expense” — 14% “a great deal,” 41% “some,” and 29% “just a little.”
Nearly half of voters (49%) say they oppose “giving taxpayer dollars to parents to pay for tuition at private or religious K-12 schools,” while only 40% say they support it. More than one in four voters (26%) strongly oppose the idea.
Opposition and support remain similar after voters are read statements in support of and against taxpayer funding for private and religious K-12 schools, with 47% opposed (including 30% strongly opposed), and 38% in favor.
‘Community schools’ for the win
When asked to choose between two educational policy options, 55% of voters favor investing “in community schools to make public schools centers for student services that provide before and after school care, social support, and tutoring,” while only 36% favor providing support “to students in struggling communities to attend private or religious schools.” Nearly one-third (33%) strongly favor investing in community schools.
Whether they live in urban, suburban, or rural areas of the state, voters showed a strong preference for investing in community schools rather than providing support to private and religious schools. In urban areas, voters favor community school investments (47%) over support for private and religious schools (40%). In rural areas, the split is 57% to 37%, and in suburban areas it is 57% to 35%.
“We know that public schools in many parts of the state are vastly underfunded, especially those serving communities of color and low-income rural and urban neighborhoods,” Chapin said. “Instead of sending hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to private and religious schools, we should focus on the public schools that educate 90% of Pennsylvania’s students.”
This poll was conducted by Susquehanna Polling & Research with questions sponsored by PSEA. Interviews were conducted Feb. 27 through March 6, 2024, with 710 registered voters in Pennsylvania. The margin of error for a sample size of 710 interviews is +/-3.7% at the 95% confidence level.
A summary of the results from Susquehanna Polling & Research can be viewed at www.psea.org/polling, including additional details on survey responses by education level, geographical region, political party, race, and residence type.
Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.
