AP Poll: 78 Percent Say Public School Teachers Aren't Paid Enough

Source: Talking Points Memo/AP




By Carole Feldman and Emily Swanson | April 23, 2018 10:55 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly believe teachers don’t make enough money, and half say they’d support paying higher taxes to give educators a raise.

The findings of the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research come amid recent teacher strikes and other protests over low pay, tough classroom conditions and the amount of money allocated to public schools in several Republican-led states.

Tens of thousands of Arizona teachers voted last week to strike after rejecting an offer of a 20-percent raise, because it didn’t include a vow from state lawmakers not to further cut taxes before providing more money for the state’s schools.

“To educate children and barely get a living is obnoxious,” said Elaine Penman, a company manager in Tucson, Arizona, who added she and others went outside to cheer on protesting teachers who were marching by. She’s among the 50 percent of Americans who say they’d pay a higher tax bill if it meant more money for teachers.

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