We don’t spend enough locally on pre-kindergarten education, according to a recent community poll of Pima County residents, who indicated a willingness to pay for early childhood education programs with a “sin tax” on tobacco or alcohol.
The poll, which tallied 1,420 respondents, is part of a partnership between the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson’s Strongpoint Opinion Research.
Tucson residents answered in slightly higher numbers to questions about approving increased funding for preschool education; 74 percent of city respondents said they would vote to increase funds, while 68 percent of respondents who live in Pima County, but outside of the city limits, agreed.
Ninety-five percent of all people who answered the poll said that funding should go to public schools first, before private or parochial schools, or homeschooling.
