A new poll finds Maryland residents strongly support many of the education proposals put forth by the Kirwan Commission, which include increasing teacher salaries and education funding.
However, lawmakers may find less enthusiasm actually paying for the proposals once people familiarize themselves with the plan.
The findings come in a released Monday. More than 700 Maryland adults were asked about the individual proposals submitted by the Kirwan Commission.
There鈥檚 overwhelming support for doing things like offering more job or vocational training programs (93% agree), raising teacher salaries (85% agree they鈥檙e too low) and increasing funding for education (69% agree the state doesn鈥檛 provide enough funding).
All of those and more are part of the Kirwan Commission鈥檚 proposals, which lawmakers in Annapolis are currently debating.
While lawmakers are discussing the nuances of the proposals, 69% of those surveyed said they鈥檝e heard or read 鈥渘othing at all鈥� when it comes to the Kirwan Commission.
The plans also come with a roughly $4 billion price tag, and that鈥檚 where the public might be far less willing to support some of the initiatives.
The Goucher College Poll found 51% of Marylanders said the overall amount of state taxes they have is 鈥渢oo high,鈥� and another 44% said it鈥檚 鈥渁bout right.鈥�
Broken down further, 37% said they鈥檇 rather keep state services and taxes about the same. Another 28% said they鈥檇 rather have more or improved state government services if it meant more taxes. Just as many said they鈥檇 rather have fewer in order to reduce taxes.
鈥淟arge majorities of Marylanders recognize that public schools are facing the very problems the recommendations were designed to address,鈥� said Mileah Kromer, the director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College.
However, 鈥渙ur results suggest that the costs of the Kirwan recommendations, rather than the merits of the plan, will be of concern to Marylanders.鈥�
It鈥檚 also the chief reason Gov. Larry Hogan has come out against the commission鈥檚 proposals, and it has left Democrats in the General Assembly scrambling to figure out how to come up with a funding plan.
Other findings in the poll revealed:
- Hogan has a 62% job approval rating as governor, with 20% disapproving and 17% saying they don鈥檛 know.
- Forty-one percent of Marylanders approve of the job the General Assembly is doing right now, with 27% disapproving and 29% indicating they don鈥檛 know.
- Twenty percent of those surveyed said crime and criminal justice is the top issue facing the state right now, with 17% identifying education and 15% viewing economic issues like jobs, taxes, and economic growth as the most important.
The Goucher Poll also found 49% of Marylanders feel the state is heading in the right direction, a 10% drop from this time last year. Another 32% said the state is on the wrong track.
Another issue being debated in Maryland this year is legalized sports betting.
The survey found 47% support the idea of legalizing online sports betting, while 43% oppose it.
However, only 45% support allowing sports betting at places like race tracks, casinos or stadiums in Maryland, while 49% oppose.
The Goucher Poll surveyed 713 Maryland adults between Feb. 13 and Feb. 18. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent.
