A majority of voters don’t want the U.S. Department of Education abolished, a recent poll found, signaling tenuous support for President Donald Trump’s signature education campaign pledge.
What’s more, voters favor boosting funding for education, though they don’t want to see tax hikes to pay for education programs, according to the poll, a nationally representative sample of 1,000 voters. The poll also found deep support for career-and-technical education across a wide swath of the electorate.
The poll was conducted last fall, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5, by Lake Research Partners, a Democratic polling organization, and the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling firm, on behalf of All4Ed, a policy and advocacy organization that promotes college and workforce readiness, particularly for students of color and students from low-income families.
More than half of voters surveyed—58 percent—don’t want to see the Education Department nixed, compared to 29 percent who support getting rid of the department, the poll found.
While Democrats are more likely to oppose deep-sixing the department than Republicans, a plurality of GOP voters don’t like the idea of scrapping the agency, either. Forty-four percent of Republicans surveyed said they aren’t on board with getting rid of the department, compared to 39 percent who would like to see it abolished.
More than three-quarters of Democrats—76 percent—oppose getting rid of the Education Department, compared to 18 percent who would like to see it abolished.
“Eliminating the Department of Education is unpopular,” said Celinda Lake, president and CEO of Lake Research Partners. Voters, she said, “want to prioritize education.”
That sentiment is bipartisan, added Brian Nienaber, a vice president at the Tarrance Group.
“There really is strong support among Republicans for public education,” he said.
Public sentiment aside, Trump faces an uphill battle in his bid to squelch the Education Department. There have been GOP proposals to get rid of the agency since its inception more than four decades ago, but the move would require 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans hold only a 53-vote majority.
Trump and his team can diminish the agency, however, in part by getting rid of offices within the department that aren’t mandated by legislation, rolling back guidance and regulatory documents, or shrinking its ranks of career staffers.
Voters want to hike education spending, but not their taxes
The poll also found that a majority of voters—56 percent—would rather see federal education spending increased than cut or remain the same.
But that number ticks down significantly when tax increases come into the picture. Only 39 percent of voters surveyed were willing to pay more in taxes to increase federal school funding.
During his first term, Trump sought massive cuts to the Education Department’s bottom line. For the most part, those proposals were rejected by a GOP-controlled Congress.
A ‘massive appetite’ among voters for career-connected learning
While some voters are skeptical of the value of a four-year college degree, voters across the board embrace career-and-technical training and work-based learning opportunities, such as internships, the poll found.
Three-quarters of voters agree it is either “extremely” or “very” important that schools provide students with career-connected learning, including internships and apprenticeships, and help them earn credentials sought by employers.
And three-quarters said the same about the value of partnerships among school districts, colleges, and employers aimed at ensuring that students “are prepared to navigate life after high school and have opportunities to thrive.”
On the flip side, only 30 percent of voters believe a four-year college degree is worth pursuing given the cost, the poll found.
When it comes to work-based, career-connected learning, voters “like the whole big agenda,” Lake said. “They have a very massive appetite for it. They think this will help everybody. It’ll help the future of the country. It’ll help people do well in school. It’ll help people do well in jobs and careers, and it’ll help people thrive in their lives.”
