Posted on: Friday, July 13, 2001

Poll finds many unhappy with public schools

Advertiser Staff

The Department of Education released the results of the Hawai'i Opinion Poll on Public Education yesterday, showing that the majority of the public is giving C's and D's to Hawai'i public schools.

Those surveyed gave B's and C's to public schools in the nation as a whole.

However, public school parents gave more favorable marks to elementary schools, and a majority said their child is getting a better elementary and high school education than they had received.

The opinion poll was conducted by SMS, an independent research firm. It identified the biggest problems facing Hawai'i public schools as low teacher salaries, poor financial support and rundown facilities.

"The people who are most satisfied with Hawai'i's public schools are the ones with children in our schools. They have the most direct and well informed perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of our schools," said Superintendent Paul LeMahieu. "Judging from their opinions, they believe our elementary schools are doing well, while greater improvement is desired in our secondary schools."

The poll was conducted in February among 620 residents, and it is the sixth Department of Education survey since 1990 on public perceptions of Hawai'i public schools.