Oregon Moms Union Poll: Public fully backs school choice

By Oregon Moms Union,

Oregon Moms Union Releases New Poll Showing Overwhelming Support for School Choice
“Oregonians are demanding more options for parents and kids. It’s time politicians began to listen.”

Portland, Ore. — Oregon Moms Union, the state’s premiere nonpartisan education advocacy group, released a statewide poll today to gauge voters’ mood surrounding issues of school choice.

“In light of the failures of the public education system navigating COVID, the recent trend of parents pulling kids out of public schools, and continued poor performance indicators, we wanted to know what the public’s appetite is for real education alternatives for parents,” said MacKensey Pulliam, President and Co-Founder of the Oregon Moms Union.

The poll was conducted by Nelson Research, a nationally known Oregon pollster that has been relied on for polling statewide in the Governor’s race by news media over the past several months.

The results show overwhelming support for expanding school choice in Oregon. In light of Oregonians’ appetite for change, Oregon Moms Union is preparing to take significant steps to implement school choice in our state in the near future.

“Oregonians are demanding more options for parents and kids,” continued Pulliam. “It’s time politicians began to listen to the choices of parents instead of imposing their own will on students.”

Initial Highlights

Finding 1: A majority of Oregonians are unhappy with Oregon’s K-12 education system.

Only 16.6% of Oregonians believe Oregon’s public K-12 education system is on the right track. Looking at the data by party registration, under a quarter of Democrats view the system favorably. Three quarters of Republicans believe public education is headed in the wrong direction along with half of Independent\Unaffiliated voters.
Finding 2: Close to three fourths (72.6%) of Oregonians support school choice.

Only 24.3% oppose letting parents have the right to use their tax dollars the way that best serves their child’s needs. Very few have no opinion (3%). Breaking it down by political party, 59.7% of Democrats support school choice, as well as commanding majorities of Republicans and Independent\Unaffiliated voters.
Finding 3: School Choice is popular, despite opposition.

Oregon Moms Union tested messaging from both sides of the school choice issue. With this initial “informed” ballot, a majority still support strengthening school choice. In this hypothetical ballot test, school choice wins by over 21 points.

Click here for a polling memo for the specific questions, answers, and crosstabs. In the coming weeks Oregon Moms Union will continue to highlight research showing Oregonians’ eagerness for school choice.

About Oregon Moms Union:Oregon Moms Union, formed in early 2021 in the wake of COVID-19 school shutdowns and distance learning, seeks to empower parents to advocate for a student-first K-12 education system. It currently has more than 90 volunteer School District Captains serving in more than 75 school districts. Learn more at www.oregonmomsunion.com.