Posted on: Thursday, October 11, 2001

Island Voices
Education ranks high in Hawai'i

By Randy Hitz
Dean, University of Hawai‘i College of Education

The public seems to understand that investing in education today means we will likely have to pay less for welfare, criminal justice and remedial education in the future.

Three public opinion polls conducted this year provide important information for educators and policymakers.

They include the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll conducted nationwide, the Hawai'i Opinion Poll on Public Education (HOPPE) 2001 conducted by the Hawai'i Department of Education and The People's Pulse sponsored by the Hawai'i Business Roundtable, Pacific Resource Partnership and The Honolulu Advertiser.

The people of Hawai'i see education as a top priority along with the economy. With the tragedies of Sept. 11, national security will likely be among the priorities in the future, but the concern for education will remain nevertheless.

According to The People's Pulse, nearly nine out of 10 Hawai'i residents say that ensuring good public schools is "extremely important."

Hawai'i residents rate their schools higher today than in earlier polls. In the HOPPE poll, residents were asked if they think the schools have improved, stayed the same or gotten worse. Over 24 percent of 2001 respondents said the schools are improving, while only 18.5 percent said they were improving in 1996.

Those who know the schools best (parents) rate the schools higher.

The three top concerns that Hawai'i residents express about the schools include low teacher salaries (22.3 percent), lack of financial support (19.5 percent) and inadequate or rundown facilities (13.4 percent).

Residents of Hawai'i and throughout the United States are willing to pay more taxes if the money goes to education. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents to the HOPPE poll said they supported increasing the general excise tax by 0.5 to 1 percentage point or increasing the state income tax by 1 percentage point.

People of this state understand how important it is that we educate all of our children. Doing so will help ensure the economic and general well-being of families and communities.

The public seems to understand that investing in education today means we will likely have to pay less for welfare, criminal justice and remedial education in the future. The public is correct.