Schools Poll Finds Support for Vouchers : Education: Concept of parental choice gets county residents’ approval in annual Q & A. Poll also finds that both the system and parents are blamed for educational woes.

Almost two of every three San Diego County residents favor giving parents vouchers to spend on their children’s education at any public or private school, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The strong backing for school choice--which is harshly condemned by public school educators--dovetails with data from the same poll showing a decline in support for public education by both parents and non-parents alike.

But county residents aren’t leveling all the blame on schools for what they see as severe problems plaguing American education. A healthy percentage fault parents as well for the poor performance of many schools, according to the poll, which was commissioned by the county Office of Education.

These major findings come from the fourth annual sampling of county residents’ views of public education. Results of the poll, taken in November, were presented Wednesday to the San Diego County Board of Education.

The data is used by many of the 43 county school districts in trying to come up with plans to generate more support for their programs--in particular, to garner more public funding.

The latest survey, a scientific sampling of 354 county residents, indicates that educators have their work cut out for them.

The level of countywide support for the voucher concept substantially exceeds the 50% of Americans found to favor vouchers by the Gallup organization last fall.

But county educators found some solace in additional polling that indicates that local support for choice may be soft.

“The support is theoretical,” pollster Robert Meadow told the Board of Education on Wednesday. “There’s a major caveat in that the more that people learn about (the details of choice plans), the support declines and major opposition develops.”

For example, when Meadow asked residents whether they would support vouchers if limited only to public schools, as has been suggested by some officials, 51% said no.

In addition, more than 70% said they would be more likely to oppose vouchers than to favor them if private schools were not required to have state-certified teachers or to educate disabled students. And 48% said they would be more likely to oppose the plan if private schools did not have to teach the same curriculum as public schools.

Meadow’s recommendation to the board: Publicize the specifics of a probable statewide measure on the November ballot placing a voucher system into the state constitution, as a way to cut into the general public support that now exists.

As in previous surveys, those residents with children in public schools--some 26% of the total sample--gave higher marks to the system. But the percentage awarding A’s and Bs to their children’s schools is down from previous years, to 69% from a high of 75% just two years ago and 73% last year. The percentage of Cs rose to 25% from 16% a year ago.

The general public continues to hand out much lower grades, with just 6% believing that schools deserve an A, 20% a B, 38% a C and a healthy 15% opting for a D, or barely passing. That’s because residents overall form their opinions of schools not through their children but through the media, Meadow said, and media coverage tends to be more negative than views acquired firsthand through parent contact with schools.

Those general public grades also have gotten worse, with more than 50% handing out Cs or Ds, compared to 42% last year and just 36% in 1988.

But schools aren’t alone in feeling the wrath of the general public.

Almost 52% of the public say parents deserve Cs or Ds for the way they raise their children, and just 28% give them A’s or Bs.

The general public sees drugs as the biggest problem facing schools, at 26%, the survey showed. Some 17% see lack of funding as the major dilemma, and 16% point out a lack of discipline as the biggest impediment to better achievement.

Almost 80% of the respondents favor taking classroom time to teach students how to avoid gang involvement.

But Meadow found hope in the number who see lack of funding as a major issue, although those most likely to vote are also least enthusiastic about increasing the amount of money for schools.

While 66% of frequent voters say they would vote for school bonds, the percentage is down from 71% last year, and historically the support for bonds is much lower in actual elections after the costs of bond measures have been publicized by opponents. The San Diego Unified School District will have a property tax increase on the June ballot that will require a simple majority to pass.