New Jersey voters cite parent involvement as the most crucial factor in resolving the state鈥檚 public school problems, according to a new survey released this week.
found that 71 percent of voters believe that requiring more parent involvement would lead to 鈥渕ajor improvements鈥� to New Jersey鈥檚 public schools. Another 70 percent said the lack of parent involvement is a 鈥渕ajor鈥� obstacle impeding learning for K-12 public school students.
Of the solutions voters considered to fix pubic schools, vouchers came in last with 40 percent, according to the poll. Parent involvement tops the list of remedies, with 70 percent, followed by increased school funding at 53 percent and reforming teacher tenure at 52 percent. The survey found that vouchers have greater support among minorities with 52 percent of non-white voters favoring the school choice option compared to 35 percent of white voters. Fairleigh Dickinson University interviewed 700 registered voters by phone last month for the survey.
鈥淭his speaks to the difficulty of assuming that a single remedy will suffice to satisfy the concerns of parents,鈥� said Krista Jenkins, director of and professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson, in Hackensack, N.J.
The stark differences along party lines found in the poll were somewhat predictable. Seventy percent of Democrats surveyed believe more money will lead to greater improvements in schools while their only a third of Republicans held that view.
Conversely, 63 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of Democrats said poorly trained or ineffective teachers are the cause of failing schools. And 63 percent of Republicans believe teacher tenure reform will yield greater school reform in comparison to 46 percent of Democrats.
鈥淲hen Democrats and Republicans see things so differently, it鈥檚 easy to understand why any changes to the system are difficult to achieve and not without controversy,鈥� Jenkins said in a news release.
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