Schools Get Best Marks From Parents of Students : Education: Poll finds that the perceptions of the performance of the county’s schools is linked to whether respondent has direct contacts with schools.

San Diego County residents who have children in public schools view education much more favorably than those without direct links to the schools, according to a new poll sampling attitudes toward area schools.

Among residents with at least one child in county schools, 75% give schools either an “A” or “B” in performance, contrasted with only 36% when the views of all residents are compiled. Only 28% of county residents have children in public schools.

The general public also believes that drugs are the biggest problem facing the school system, but parents with schoolchildren believe, by more than two-to-one, that crowded classrooms are a much more pressing issue.

The report finds some significant variations between the responses of those who have school-age children and those who do not. It says that “overall, using any indicator of familiarity with the schools, the data show very clearly those who know the schools best rate them more favorably than those who do not know the schools.”

It also finds an “age gap” in the evaluations, “with older citizens and those who have already had children pass through the school system having a more nostalgic and conservative view of the schools, and wanting schools to return to the way they used to be in the distant past.”

The telephone survey asking 80 questions of 1,601 adults was carried out in late September and early October for the San Diego County office of Education by Decision Research Co. The survey used a method to ensure equal probability of reaching residents regardless of whether their telephone numbers were listed and was conducted in households with telephones in which English or Spanish is spoken. The findings are valid within 3 percentage points.

The results parallel those found in an annual nationwide Gallup Poll survey that asks similar questions. They also differ little from an initial survey done last year that was used by the county office as the basis to begin an information campaign to boost positive public perception of public education.

Based on the newest data, “it is premature to look for change in public attitudes toward the schools,” the report concludes.

Among the major overall findings:

* Twenty-four percent said that schools are better today contrasted with five years ago, 23% said schools are worse, 29% said they are about the same, and 24% said they don’t know.

* By geographic area, people in inland areas of North County consistently rate schools more highly than do residents of the San Diego city area. By ethnicity, Latinos are most favorable toward schools, with 46% giving schools an “A” or “B,” contrasted with 34% of whites and 30% of blacks.

* Almost 80% support sex education in elementary and junior-high schools, 56% back year-round schools, 79% call for a national testing program, 83% back national achievement goals and 68% back reforms to give teachers at individual schools more power over how to run their campuses.

* Eighty-two percent favor financial awards for high-achieving schools, 55% favor choice-- where parents could choose any school within a district for their children--and 76% say that parents should be responsible for any transportation required under choice.

* Sixty-six percent want students to spend more time in school, with 68% of Latinos and 77% of blacks supporting more school instruction.

* Only 4% think teachers are overpaid; 45% think they are underpaid and 45% think their pay is about right.

* Almost 23% of the general public said they “don’t know” enough about public schools to make any judgments, contrasted with 12% of those with children in schools. Of those who said they don’t have enough information, 76% said they lack basic information from the media.

And, despite 76% of all residents saying they would vote for school bonds, the report pointed out that in only one recent county school bond election, the $27-million issue in Escondido in June, did school officials receive the necessary 66 2/3% “yes” vote. “Support is higher among Democrats, liberals and less likely voters than among Republicans, conservatives and more likely voters,” the report said.