Republican Georgia lawmakers are pushing ahead with plans to establish another subsidy for private education even as a poll for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds significant opposition among voters.
The poll found 60% of registered voters — including 50% of conservatives — opposed using taxpayer funds to pay for private schooling in some circumstances.
Respondents also expressed confidence in public schools but gave lower marks for how they teach about racism.
The poll was conducted Jan. 3-11 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs and involved 1,007 registered voters. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
The survey comes as Republicans in the General Assembly renew their push to establish another way to send tax dollars to private schools, a funding mechanism typically referred to as “vouchers.” The GOP leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as Gov. Brian Kemp, have said they support passage this year.
Voucher advocates have tried annually to get such a measure into law and nearly succeeded last year when the Senate passed Senate Bill 233. But it stalled in the House, just six votes shy of passage.
The bill has been sent to the House Education Committee for more deliberation — and changes that might draw more support from some of the 16 Republicans who opposed it last year.
The legislation would give $6,500 a year to students who leave a low-performing public school, with the amount subtracted from the state’s allocation to that school. Parents could use it to enroll their child in a private school or for costs associated with homeschooling.
Proponents say students deserve a choice between a public and private education and that taxpayers should offset the cost. Opponents counter that these subsidies divert funding from public schools.
Georgia already has two private school subsidies, one paid for with up to $120 million in tax credits per year and the other restricted to students with special needs or medical conditions.
Poll respondent Asia Blount thinks vouchers are unfair because only some would directly benefit from them.
“If you want your child to go to a private school, then it should be out of your own pocket,” said Blount, whose daughter attends a public middle school in Fulton County.
She reviewed the curriculum at an area private school and deemed it superior. But the fast-food restaurant manager said she couldn’t afford the tuition even with the $6,500 subsidy offered in SB 233.
Blount would rather see teacher pay raises and hiring that reduces class sizes for all students. Public schools would be less able to afford that if the state were diverting money to private schools, she reasoned:
“You’re pulling kids out of poor performing schools to put them in a better situation. But what about all the other kids left behind?”
The AJC poll also found confidence in local public schools.
Most respondents said they trust their district schools to stock appropriate books in school libraries, with liberals feeling more strongly about that than conservatives. And most, regardless of ideological leanings, expressed confidence in their district’s ability to handle the risk of student violence.
The poll found less trust in schools’ ability to teach about racism in this country, with Black and also conservative respondents expressing more skepticism.
Those surveyed had about as much faith in the state’s K-12 school system as they did in the Georgia Legislature, with about three-quarters expressing at least some confidence. Both institutions were overshadowed by higher education: About 9 out of 10 respondents said they had some, quite a lot or a great deal of confidence in Georgia’s colleges and universities.
Conservatives may interpret Kemp’s abiding prioritization of pay raises for public school teachers as a tacit endorsement, said Audrey Haynes, who teaches political science at the University of Georgia.
“This may play into the belief that our public schools are doing quite well,” Haynes, who was not involved in the AJC’s poll, said by email.
The trust in schools comes despite several years of allegations by politicians that educators use their authority to push their own agendas about sexuality and racial equity.
In 2022, Republicans passed a law, promoted by Kemp, that limits discussions about “divisive” concepts in K-12 classrooms. And last year, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones went after state universities, criticizing the millions of dollars they spend on diversity, equity and inclusion.
President Joe Biden’s education secretary, Miguel Cardona, said these kinds of attacks are meant to undermine confidence in public education.
“This is very intentional, when we do book bans, when we create transphobia and we create a new boogeyman every couple years,” said Cardona, during a visit this week to the AJC.
Voucher proponents want to make money off public education, he said.
Tony West dismisses such claims. The state director of Americans for Prosperity, a pro-voucher group that has been knocking on doors in support of SB 233, said every child is unique and deserving of a tailored education, paid for at least in part by taxpayers.
“We believe in an education system that’s more personalized. And the way you personalize it is by empowering families to have more control over where their kid can go to school or be educated,” West said.
West noted dissonance between the AJC poll and results from an advisory question with different wording that appeared on the May 2022 primary ballot. Four out of 5 Republican voters responded “yes” when asked whether state education dollars should “follow the student to the school that best fits their need,” whether public or private.
The results
The poll was conducted Jan. 3-11 for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs. It questioned 1,007 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. (Some totals may exceed 100% due to rounding.)
The Georgia Legislature is considering legislation that would allow the use of taxpayer funds to pay for private schooling in some circumstances. Do you support or oppose the use of taxpayer money to support students who want a private education?
Strongly support 20%
Somewhat support 15%
Somewhat oppose 16%
Strongly oppose 44%
Don’t know 6%
How much do you trust the schools in your district to make good choices — do you completely trust, mostly trust, mostly distrust, or completely distrust them to ensure books in school libraries are appropriate for students?
Completely trust 19%
Mostly trust 48%
Mostly distrust 15%
Completely distrust 12%
Don’t know 6%
How much do you trust the schools in your district to make good choices — do you completely trust, mostly trust, mostly distrust, or completely distrust them to teach about racism in the United States?
Completely trust 13%
Mostly trust 32%
Mostly distrust 23%
Completely distrust 26%
Don’t know 7%
How much do you trust the schools in your district to make good choices — do you completely trust, mostly trust, mostly distrust, or completely distrust them to respond appropriately when a student poses a risk of doing something violent?
Completely trust 19%
Mostly trust 43%
Mostly distrust 20%
Completely distrust 10%
Don’t know 8%
How much confidence do you have in Georgia K-12 public schools?
A great deal 10%
Quite a lot 19%
Some 49%
Very little 18%
None 2%
Don’t know 2%
How much confidence do you have in Georgia’s colleges and universities?
A great deal 22%
Quite a lot 29%
Some 38%
Very little 9%
None 1%
Don’t know 2%
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