70% of parents support expanding public charter school options
ALBUQUERQUE – Today, Excellent Schools New Mexico, Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce released results from a scientific survey of parents of school-aged children in Bernalillo County, which shows both strong opposition to a charter school moratorium and strong support for expanding public school options in New Mexico.
The poll, conducted by Research & Polling, Inc. from December 2018 to January 2019, found that 68% of parents oppose a proposed state law that would “stop the opening of any new public charter schools in New Mexico for several years.” Consistent with this finding, 70% of parents expressed support for “continuing to develop and open more public charter schools in the state.”
“These survey findings confirm what we have heard from families across our community. Parents – especially parents who lack access to our state’s best schools – want more, not fewer, quality public school options for their kids. It’s time to stop fighting about whether these options are traditional public schools, magnet schools or charter schools, and instead focus on making sure that all families have access to a great public school,” said Scott Hindman, Executive Director of Excellent Schools New Mexico.
House Bill 434 which will be heard Wednesday, February 20 in the House Education Committee, seeks a moratorium on the opening of new charter schools for three years.
“Public charter schools have been offering high-quality options that meet students’ needs for over two decades,” said Matt Pahl, Executive Director of Public Charter Schools of New Mexico. “It’s no surprise that more than two-thirds of parents in the Albuquerque area want more charter schools not fewer. Public charter schools provide choice for parents, and a moratorium clearly would deny families the opportunities they are seeking for their children.”
Opposition to a charter school moratorium – and support for opening additional charter schools – is consistently strong across every single surveyed demographic subgroup, including all income levels, ethnicities/races, genders, age ranges, and educational attainment levels. Opposition to a public charter school moratorium is strongest in the North Valley/Downtown (78%) and in the South Valley/Southwest Mesa (75%). Furthermore, 59% of union households support the opening of more public charter schools, with the majority of these households also opposing a charter school moratorium.
“Every child in our state deserves to receive a high-quality education that maximizes their chances of success in life, and our employers want to see New Mexico develop a consistently well-trained and well-educated workforce,” said Terri Cole, President and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. “We see tremendous examples in Albuquerque and elsewhere of charter schools delivering on the promise of education and helping students achieve and learn – often in neighborhoods where student achievement has lagged for far too long. We should encourage, not stifle, innovation and choice in education. There is simply no justifiable reason to halt the opening or growth of high-quality public charter schools in our state.”
New Mexico’s public charter schools rank among the highest-performing schools in the state, with 42% of public charter schools earning ‘A’ or ‘B’ grades in 2018. These schools offer differentiated learning environments and areas of academic focus that many students and families find more suitable and effective. The New Mexico public charter school community holds itself – and expects to be held – to extremely high standards and has supported the closure of schools that are not
performing. The result is a high-performing school environment that meets the needs of a diverse array of students across our state.
About the Survey:
These findings are from a survey conducted by Research & Polling, Inc. of 500 parents of school-aged children in Bernalillo County, commissioned by Excellent Schools New Mexico, the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools, and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. The survey was fielded in December 2018/January 2019. Margin of error: 4.4%. The questions referenced above specifically read as follows:
SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE NEW MEXICO SHOULD PASS A STATE LAW THAT WOULD STOP THE OPENING OF ANY NEW PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS IN NEW MEXICO FOR SEVERAL YEARS. WOULD YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE SUCH A POLICY? IS THAT STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT SUPPORT/OPPOSE?
RESPONSE: 68% TOTAL OPPOSE
23% TOTAL SUPPORT
SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC SUBGROUPS:
TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
GENDER ETHNCITY AGE
MALE FEMALE
HISPANIC/ LATINO
ANGLO/ CAUCASIAN
18 - 34 YEARS
35 - 49 YEARS
50 YRS OR OLDER STRONGLY SUPPORT 15% 14% 16% 17% 13% 9% 14% 21% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 8% 8% 8% 9% 8% 9% 8% 9% DEPENDS/MIXED FEELINGS 3% 3% 4% 4% 3% 5% 4% 2% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 22% 21% 24% 25% 20% 25% 21% 25% STRONGLY OPPOSE 46% 49% 44% 41% 51% 46% 48% 40% DON’T KNOW/WON’T SAY 5% 5% 5% 3% 6% 6% 5% 4%
60%
STRONGLY SUPPORT
46%
40%
20%
5%
0%
SUPPORT/OPPOSE PASSING A STATE LAW TO STOP THE OPENING OF ANY NEW PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS IN NEW MEXICO FOR SEVERAL YEARS TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
15%
8% 3%
SOMEWHAT SUPPORT
DEPENDS/ MIXED FEELINGS
SOMEWHAT OPPOSE
22%
STRONGLY OPPOSE
DON'T KNOW/ WON'T SAY
GRADUATE DEGREE STRONGLY SUPPORT 15% 18% 13% 10% 11% 18% 22% 11% 14% 17% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 8% 9% 5% 7% 11% 9% 5% 9% 11% 8% DEPENDS/MIXED FEELINGS 3% 3% 4% 7% 4% 1% - 6% 3% 2% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 22% 19% 24% 29% 17% 21% 21% 20% 26% 24% STRONGLY OPPOSE 46% 49% 46% 43% 53% 47% 45% 51% 44% 40% DON’T KNOW/WON’T SAY 5% 3% 7% 3% 5% 4% 7% 3% 3% 8%
TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
UNION MEMBER IN NUMBER OF CHILDREN
HOUSEHOLD REGION
ONE TWO
NORTH
SOUTH THREE OR
VALLEY/
VALLEY/
MID MORE YES NO
DOWNTOWN
SW MESA WESTSIDE
HEIGHTS
FAR HEIGHTS STRONGLY SUPPORT 15% 18% 14% 9% 22% 14% 17% 17% 21% 12% 12% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 8% 9% 9% 5% 15% 7% 2% 5% 8% 13% 10% DEPENDS/MIXED FEELINGS 3% 4% 3% 1% 6% 3% 3% 2% 5% 4% 4% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 22% 21% 23% 27% 22% 22% 23% 34% 12% 16% 26% STRONGLY OPPOSE 46% 43% 44% 58% 33% 49% 55% 41% 47% 46% 44% DON’T KNOW/WON’T SAY 5% 4% 7% 1% 3% 5% - 2% 7% 9% 4%
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DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE NEW MEXICO CONTINUING TO DEVELOP AND OPEN MORE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE STATE? IS THAT STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT SUPPORT/OPPOSE?
RESPONSE: 70% TOTAL SUPPORT
21% TOTAL OPPOSE
60%
50%
40%
20% 20%
4% 9% 12%
4%
0%
STRONGLY SUPPORT
TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
SUPPORT/OPPOSE NEW MEXICO CONTINUING TO DEVELOP AND OPEN MORE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME EDUCATION UNDER $35,000
$35,000- $49,999
$50,000- $79,999
$80,000– $99,999
$100,000 OR MORE
HS OR LESS
SOME COLLEGE
COLLEGE GRADUATE
SOMEWHAT SUPPORT
DEPENDS/ MIXED FEELINGS
SOMEWHAT OPPOSE
STRONGLY OPPOSE
DON'T KNOW/ WON'T SAY
SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC SUBGROUPS:
TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
GENDER ETHNCITY AGE
MALE FEMALE
HISPANIC/
ANGLO/
18 - 34
35 - 49 LATINO
CAUCASIAN
YEARS
YEARS
50 YRS OR OLDER STRONGLY SUPPORT 50% 45% 55% 48% 52% 54% 53% 44% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 20% 22% 19% 18% 24% 22% 19% 22% DEPENDS/MIXED FEELINGS 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% - 4% 7% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 9% 11% 8% 12% 6% 12% 7% 11% STRONGLY OPPOSE 12% 13% 10% 13% 10% 9% 13% 11% DON’T KNOW/WON’T SAY 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 5%
TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME EDUCATION UNDER $35,000
$35,000- $49,999
$50,000- $79,999
$80,000– $99,999
$100,000 OR MORE
HS OR LESS
SOME COLLEGE
COLLEGE GRADUATE
GRADUATE DEGREE STRONGLY SUPPORT 50% 54% 45% 55% 48% 50% 52% 55% 49% 42% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 20% 14% 23% 19% 23% 22% 11% 22% 23% 27% DEPENDS/MIXED FEELINGS 4% 7% 4% 3% 5% 4% 8% 4% 3% 2% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 9% 14% 7% 10% 9% 5% 11% 8% 10% 9% STRONGLY OPPOSE 12% 6% 15% 10% 11% 16% 13% 7% 14% 16% DON’T KNOW/WON’T SAY 4% 6% 6% 4% 4% 3% 7% 4% 2% 5%
TOTAL SAMPLE (N=500)
UNION MEMBER IN NUMBER OF CHILDREN
HOUSEHOLD REGION
ONE TWO
NORTH
SOUTH THREE OR
VALLEY/
VALLEY/
MID MORE YES NO
DOWNTOWN
SW MESA WESTSIDE
HEIGHTS
FAR HEIGHTS STRONGLY SUPPORT 50% 48% 50% 60% 38% 53% 66% 50% 48% 50% 47% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT 20% 18% 22% 24% 21% 20% 13% 20% 17% 21% 23% DEPENDS/MIXED FEELINGS 4% 5% 3% 3% 2% 5% - 7% 3% 4% 4% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE 9% 9% 9% 8% 15% 8% 2% 9% 14% 8% 9% STRONGLY OPPOSE 12% 14% 12% 5% 20% 10% 15% 11% 14% 9% 12% DON’T KNOW/WON’T SAY 4% 5% 5% - 4% 4% 4% 2% 5% 7% 4%
Excellent Schools New Mexico supports innovative educators who aim to provide traditionally overlooked New Mexico students with educational opportunities and access they may not otherwise have. Our goal is for every New Mexico student to have access to a high-performing neighborhood public school.
Public Charter Schools of New Mexico supports and advocates for charter schools in the Land of Enchantment. We are the only state-wide professional organization serving New Mexico’s charter schools. Our mission is to increase student academic achievement by serving charter schools and advocating for charter school quality, growth, and autonomy.
The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce represents businesses in the Albuquerque area and supports the launch and growth of high-quality schools in New Mexico, as part of a multi-pronged approach to improving public education and providing our children the skills they need to succeed in college and/or the workforce.
Research & Polling, Inc. is New Mexico's largest full-service market research and public opinion research company. Founded in 1986, the company today serves a wide variety of prominent national and New Mexico clients. Over the years, Research & Polling has become adept at understanding the unique needs and issues of the broad spectrum of industries it serves and has a special understanding of the unique survey research requirements for the Southwest's ethnically diverse population.
Excellent Schools New Mexico Public Charter Schools of New Mexico Greater Albuquerque Chamber 1135 Broadway Blvd NE, #27501 301 Edith Blvd. NE Suite 200 115 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 201 Albuquerque, NM 87101 Albuquerque, NM 87102 Albuquerque, NM 87102
Contact: Scott Hindman Contact: Matt Pahl Contact: Chris Narkun scott@excellentschoolsnm.org matt@nmccs.org cnarkun@abqchamber.com Phone: (505) 850-8769 Phone: (505) 409-5699 Phone: (505) 764-3731