Poll: Virginians like public schools but would like more nonpublic options

Virginians like their public schools but still would like more nonpublic options, a poll released yesterday shows.

The poll of 1,203 likely Virginia voters was sponsored by several organizations supporting school vouchers and tax-credit scholarship programs.

Conducted by Braun Research Inc., a New Jersey company, the poll shows that 62 percent of Virginians rate the public school system as good or excellent.

Virginia is the first state among 13 states and the District of Columbia to rate public schools above 50 percent, pollster Paul DiPerna said yesterday in an announcement at the General Assembly Building.

Generally, suburban voters liked their schools better than did urban or small-town residents.

The survey was taken Oct. 1-4. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

While they liked public schools, 35 percent said they would rather send their child to a private school, 10 percent to charter schools and 9 percent would prefer home schooling. DiPerna said this shows a disconnect between enrollments and preferences because 90 percent of K-12 enrollees go to public schools.

Chris Braunlich, vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, a Northern Virginia-based think tank, said the results refute claims that being for school choice means someone is against public schools. The Virginia Education Association traditionally lobbies against school-choice measures, fearing they would drain money from public education.

Braunlich said likely voters from both parties said they favor tax-credit scholarships and school vouchers. Under the scholarships, people could donate money to a scholarship fund and receive a tax credit for it.

The House of Delegates has passed legislation setting up such scholarship funds for the past five years, but it has been killed in the state Senate.

Proponents, which include the Catholic Diocese of Virginia, said they hoped the survey would cause Senate opponents to change their minds.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .