Poll finds Hoosiers want more K-12 funding

Hoosiers think Indiana schools are underfunded and they're willing to pay more taxes to foot the bill. \nA survey of 1,001 Indiana residents about K-12 education released Wednesday by IU's Center for Evaluation and Education Policy found that 62 percent think schools don't get enough money and nearly as many said they were willing to pay more taxes to better fund the schools.\nMore than three-quarters of respondents said they do not support cutting school funding to balance the state budget -- up 15 percent from 2004.\nBut Hoosiers also expressed an overall satisfaction with primary and secondary education in Indiana -- 56 percent of those polled were happy with the quality of Indiana schools and even more were satisfied with the schools in their own communities.\nThough the questions dealt only with K-12 schools and not higher education, some of the results have implications for IU, said Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Director Jonathan Plucker.\nFirst, Plucker said he suspects the Hoosier funding and taxation feelings about K-12 education carry over to the state's colleges and universities. \nAlso, Plucker said since the IU School of Education trains many Indiana teachers, IU administrators can learn from the survey. For example, a majority of respondents said teachers' pay should be based on a combination of student achievement on the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress Plus and in classrooms, as well as the teacher's experience.\nTerry Spradlin, the associate director for education policy at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, said the survey's findings show Hoosiers care about education, and though they are generally satisfied with Indiana schools, they see room for improvement.\nSpradlin said he hopes the survey will help guide and impact Indiana public education policy. The researchers debuted the results of the poll to the State Board of Education and the state superintendent. Copies of the report have also circulated to the governor and numerous legislators. \n"I think it will be hard for lawmakers not to notice us," Spradlin said.\nIndiana State Senator Vi Simpson, who represents Bloomington, said the survey shows there is a growing awareness that public schools are underfunded. \n"In order to close the achievement gap in Indiana, we must focus on public education," she said.\nSimpson said the findings of the survey support her position that education needs to be a top priority for Indiana. \nThis is the third year the Center For Evaluation and Education Policy has conducted a survey on Indiana primary and secondary education. Researchers dialed randomly generated Indiana telephone numbers and interviewed respondents. They also employed quotas for race, gender, age and county of residence to ensure they polled the most representative sample of those surveyed. \nThe survey focused on nine issues in Indiana education including funding, the ISTEP+, the No Child Left Behind Act and the achievement gap.\nResearchers also found 83 percent of Hoosiers are in favor of some sort of mandatory kindergarten education and opposition to school voucher programs rose eight percent to 27 percent.\nTo download the full text of the report, visit http://ceep.indiana.edu/.