More New Yorkers think well of schools than they did in 2005

A survey released by the Community Service Society today shows that regardless of income, more New Yorkers think the city’s public schools are on the right track.

But the numbers barely make it past the 50 percent mark and for low-income residents, they don’t. The survey also shows that education will not determine how most people vote in the mayoral race.

The survey focuses on the views and concerns of the city’s low-income residents. Here’s how some of the schools-related data broke down:

  • Roughly 20 percent more New Yorkers believe that the city’s schools are headed in the right direction than they did in 2005. In 2005, 29 percent of all New Yorkers said schools were moving in the right direction, 60 percent said they were on the wrong track, and 11 percent didn’t know. In 2009, 49 percent of all New Yorkers said schools are moving in the right direction, 41 percent said they’re on the wrong track, and 11 percent didn’t know.
  • Slightly more higher-income people believe the public schools are doing better than low-income people do. In 2009, 46 percent of low-income New Yorkers said schools are moving in the right direction, 41 percent said they’re on the wrong track, and 13 percent didn’t know. Meanwhile, 51 percent of higher income New Yorkers said schools are moving in the right direction, 40 percent said they’re on the wrong track, and 9 percent don’t know.
  • Asked which issue would most affect how they will vote in the upcoming mayoral election, most low-income and moderate income people mentioned the economy, jobs, and taxes, while only about 5 percent of both groups said education. Higher-income people were less likely to mention taxes and more likely to mention education — 15 percent said education would most influence how they voted.
  • As a voting issue, education was more important for low-income black New Yorkers than for Latino and white residents (16 percent, 8 percent, and 6 percent, respectively, selected it from a list as the issue that would most influence how they voted).
  • 37 percent of poor respondents say they’ve cut back on buying back-to-school supplies and clothing. 20 percent of moderate income New Yorkers also cut back on these items.