More voters than ever approve of the job being done by Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, according to Tuesday’s Quinnipiac poll.
Fariña’s approval rating has climbed eight percentage points since March to 42 percent, and just 29 percent of voters now say they disapprove of her management of city schools. In March, 34 percent of voters approved, while 36 percent disapproved of the job Fariña was doing.
Meanwhile, public opinion of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s handling of public education dropped five percentage points since in three months, with 44 percent of voters now saying they approve of his handling of public schools. De Blasio’s overall approval rating rests at 49 percent.
The polling data comes shortly after the city’s successful expansion of full-day pre-kindergarten programs, a centerpiece of de Blasio’s education policy. It also follows de Blasio’s unveiling of a plan to turn around more than 90 low-performing schools by turning them into community schools over the next three years.
Fariña’s approval rating hovers near 50 percent among Democrats (48 percent), women (46 percent), and Hispanics (53 percent). Her approval rating is above 40 percent in every borough except Manhattan.