Magellan Strategies are pleased to present the results of a survey of 882 Colorado registered voters. This survey measured voter opinions of public education issues and policies. Visit our Surveys for School Districts page to learn more about our services for public education organizations. The interviews were conducted from April 26th through May 1st, 2022. This survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.3% at the 95 percent confidence interval.
The survey data were weighted to be representative of the voter registration demographics of Colorado. The survey questions were developed in collaboration with Chalkbeat Colorado. We sincerely appreciate their thoughts and insights regarding important Colorado public education issues and policy proposals.
Among all respondents, 40% approve, and 42% disapprove of the job their local school district is doing educating students. One in five respondents did not have an opinion on this question. Voter population subgroups with higher approval ratings for their school district included all Democrats (52% approve), Democrats aged 45-64 (62%), suburban men (47%), households with a student attending a public school (54%), and voters in the new 8th Congressional District (52%), El Paso County (48%) and Weld County (53%).
Population subgroups with higher disapproval ratings for their school district included all Republicans (57% disapprove), urban women (53%), rural voters (53%), voters in the First Congressional District (Denver) (61%), and Larimer County (50%).
Among all respondents, 58% had a favorable opinion, and 22% had an unfavorable opinion of the teachers in their local school district. Reviewing responses by party affiliation, the survey finds Democratic voters with a 70% teacher favorability rating, unaffiliated voters with a 56% favorability rating, and Republican voters with a 49% teacher favorability rating. Among households with a student attending a public school, 74% have a favorable opinion of their local teachers. Among households without a student, the local teacher favorability rating is 54%.
A plurality of respondents, 44%, think public schools in their area are off on the wrong track, only 28% think they are headed in the right direction, and 28% did not have an opinion. The table below shows responses by voter subgroup.
| Response | All Voters | Men | Women | Unaf | Dem | Rep | 18-44 | 45-64 | 65+ | Stud. in HH | No Stud. in HH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wrong Track |
44% |
42% |
46% |
42% |
30% |
62% |
44% |
49% |
36% |
53% |
40% |
|
Right Direction |
28% |
28% |
28% |
29% |
35% |
18% |
25% |
27% |
35% |
31% |
26% |
|
No Opinion |
28% |
30% |
26% |
29% |
35% |
20% |
31% |
24% |
29% |
16% |
34% |
The survey included a follow-up, open-ended question asking respondents to describe the reasons why they believed public schools were headed in the right direction or off on the wrong track. The responses present a challenging environment for Colorado teachers and professional educators to navigate.
Among Democratic voters, there is a deep frustration with public schools being underfunded and that teachers are undervalued and underpaid. In addition, these voters strongly believe conservative politicians are interfering with school administrations, firing superintendents, and pushing a political agenda. There is also a heightened concern among Democratic voters there is too much of a focus on standardized testing.
Republican voters believe most public schools are indoctrinating students with liberal ideology, “wokeism”, teaching Critical Race Theory, and radical social justice and environmental ideals. Furthermore, they are enraged about student sexual orientation and identification issues. Republicans do not believe public schools focus enough on teaching “the basics” of reading, writing, math, and critical thinking.
Depending on their age or pollical leanings, unaffiliated voters echo the same concerns as Democratic and Republican voters. Older Unaffiliated voters are likely to be more conservative, and younger ones tend to be more Democratic. Finally, many respondents mentioned concerns about a lack of discipline in classrooms.
Among all respondents, only 31% think their local school district spends taxpayer money wisely, 42% do not, and 27% did not have an opinion. The responses to this question are not surprising and concerning for school districts. School districts have a hard enough time communicating with student parents and non-parents in their communities about their policies, procedures, and events. Educating and informing their communities about how well they efficiently spend their financial resources can be overlooked or omitted from school district communications.
The survey asked voters how public education is funded in Colorado. We included this question to see how prevalent the idea of marijuana sales tax funding was top of mind and to discover what people believed. Among all respondents, 52% mentioned the word “taxes” or “property taxes.” Other common responses were “state and federal funding” and grants. To our surprise, “marijuana sales tax” was mentioned by less than 3% of all respondents.
Forty-three percent of respondents think Colorado school districts have the financial resources needed to provide students with a good education, 49% do not, and 8% are undecided. Among respondents with a student in their household, 56% said school districts have the financial resources to provide a good education. However, only 37% believe school districts have the financial resources to provide a good education among households without a student.
Among all respondents, 56% think additional funding for public education will improve students’ education. Thirty-seven percent do not believe this, and 7% do not have an opinion. Among younger voters aged 18-34, 65% believe additional funding will lead to a better education compared to 48% of seniors aged 65 or older. The difference of opinion by party affiliation on this question is vast. A whopping 85% of Democratic voters believe additional funding will lead to a better education, compared to 51% of unaffiliated voters and just 36% of Republicans.
Colorado voter opinion is evenly split over the question of providing 10 hours of preschool a week to every 4-year-old in the state (49% support) or providing more than 10 hours to a week of preschool to children with risk factors such as teen parents or language delays (41% support). Not surprisingly, respondents that likely have a risk factor support that option overwhelmingly. This includes households with an income of less than $75,000 (57% support), Hispanic respondents (72% support) and African Americans (66% support), and respondents without a 4-year college degree (60% support).
Respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the viewpoint of providing parents with education tax dollars for tutoring or tuition for another school to address the problem of “learning loss” caused by remote learning during COVID. Just 34% of Colorado voters agree with this viewpoint, and 60% disagree.
Some people believe the “learning loss” among Colorado students due to remote learning and COVID education policies justify giving tax dollars directly to parents to pay for tutoring, tuition at another school, or other educational needs. Do you agree or disagree with this viewpoint?
| Response | All Voters | Men | Women | Unaf | Dem | Rep | 18-44 | 45-64 | 65+ | Stud. in HH | No Stud. in HH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Agree |
34% |
35% |
34% |
31% |
30% |
42% |
34% |
36% |
31% |
42% |
31% |
|
Disagree |
60% |
60% |
60% |
62% |
63% |
54% |
58% |
58% |
65% |
52% |
63% |
|
No Opinion |
6% |
5% |
6% |
7% |
7% |
4% |
8% |
6% |
4% |
4% |
6% |
This survey was conducted by sending an MMS text message to Colorado registered voters, inviting them to participate in an online survey. The survey response data was weighted to reflect the voter registration demographics for Colorado. The interviews were conducted from April 26th through May 1st, 2022. This survey has a +/- 3.3% margin of error at the 95 percent confidence interval.
Contact David Flaherty for any questions regarding this survey at DFlaherty@MagellanStrategies.com.
Magellan Strategies | 4800 Aspen Creek Drive | Broomfield, CO 80023 | 303-861-8585
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