The Observer reports today on a new poll by Public Policy Polling, in which more than three-quarters of Mecklenburg residents questioned said they would be OK with paying more taxes to support public schools; almost as many said the same thing in terms of saving the Bright Beginnings pre-K program. If the poll was more believable, this would be wonderful news.
This writer has repeatedly called for a special, targeted tax to support CMS but, barring that, I’d support a small, general increase in property taxes targeted to the same ends; however, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about a poll where the questions are skewed in order to get a desired result (in this case, public support of higher taxes for education). Unfortunately, that’s the only way to describe this new poll, which asked people, “How much of an increase in local property taxes would you be willing to pay to support Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?” If PPP had asked, “Would you support a tax increase to support the schools?,” and then went on to ask those who answered “yes” how much of an increase they’d support, the results would feel much more reliable. It’s simply too leading to ask “How much of an increase would you be willing to pay” — it’s tantamount to a nonprofit’s fundraiser asking, “How much can we put you down for?”
It’s no secret that poll results can be manipulated by asking questions a certain way. Both liberal- and conservative-leaning polls do it all the time. The surprise in this case is that PPP, although admittedly left-leaning, has had a good reputation for conducting “straight-up” polls, despite conservative complaints that it is biased against them.
Sad to say, my first doubts about the poll arose when I read, “80 percent of those surveyed are aware of the state’s $3.7 billion budget deficit.” I’m sorry, but I live in this county, too, and deal regularly with “the public,” and I simply don’t believe that there are 8 out of 10 county residents who know much of anything about state government, much less the precise amount of its budget deficit. That may sound awful, but you know it’s true. Afterward, when I saw the leading nature of the poll questions’ phrasing, my fears were confirmed.
This county certainly needs to find ways to increase funding for public schools, including the Bright Beginnings program, and a mild tax increase seems the quickest way to do so. From purely anecdotal evidence gathered while talking to many people about the issue, my guess — and it’s only that — is that about half of Charlotte residents would support a small tax increase if it was targeted to schools. The biggest problem for anyone supporting a small rate hike, however, is the lack of support on the County Commission for such a move. As Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts told us last week, “I do not anticipate raising the tax rate — I don’t think there’s any support for that.” Maybe Ms. Roberts is talking to the wrong people. But, the real problem with the new PPP poll is that there’s still no way to know for sure.
This article appears in Feb 8-14, 2011.
It’s nice to see PPP exposed for the biased gang of hacks most of us with brains always knew they were.
While schools certainly need adequate funds to do their job, the answer to the problem is not as simple as writing someone a big check. The entire system is fundamentally flawed.
Let’s use some money to find a private school that is turning out exceptional students and study the system that THEY use. Perhaps parts of it can be incorporated into the public system. Let’s return control of the classroom to the teachers and stop pandering to parents who would rather butt heads with the school than discipline their own children.
I was told that the polling firm was a Democrat group that was hired by a left-leaning group wanting to keep certain programs. This group was looking for some justification for increasing taxes and used this poll to create support for that position via this poll.
The poll was designed to ask questions to give the results that the Democrats were looking for. In this case a tax increase for the programs the group paying the poll wants to keep funding.
There are D polling firms and R polling firms. This is a D political polling firm.
Makes me wonder if the Observer will give the same level of coverage to a poll that says the opposite from a R polling firm.
Targeting new money to a particular program will not work. All the money has to be targeted or none of it.
Here is what happens when only a portion of money is targeted. State lotteries were advertised that they would provide additional funding for schools. What ends up happening is that the traditional sources of funding begin to grow at a slower pace. This basically offsets the lottery money in a few years. The end result is basically no real additional funding for schools. The targeted funding is like adding more and more sand at the top of a hill. Most of it will just slide away.