As the PA General Assembly considers Governor Wolf’s request for new spending on K-12 education in the budget for 2018-2019, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has released new polling that shows that Pennsylvanians strongly support more funding for K-12 education. In fact, education was second only to taxes as the issue that poll respondents view as most critical for the Legislature to address.
Specifically, 83% of the 1,150 people polled believe full funding of K-12 public schools in Pennsylvania should be a top or important priority, and 56% say the PA Legislature currently spends too little on education. Only 12% believe the state spends too much.
Among the self-identified conservative and moderate Republicans, liberal Democrats, and independents, 62% of conservatives ranked education as a high priority and 97% of liberal Democrats agreed.
Ben Lazarus, director of research and analytics at TargetSmart, says, “The numbers remain well above majority when we look at independents, moderate Republicans and even conservative Republicans, 57% of whom want the state Legislature to prioritize improving the public schools.”
If enacted by the General Assembly, Governor Wolf’s proposal would finally restore the Corbett education cuts of 2011-2012. But the poll clearly shows Pennsylvanians would like state legislators to do even more and fully fund our schools over and above any restoration efforts.