Responding To A Pandemic

There was a shift in terms of whether respondents ranked education as a top concern of the issues facing New Orleans from 2019 to 2020. Last year, education was the top concern for 30% of respondents, nudging out crime/criminal justice, which was the main concern for 29% of those polled. In 2020, however, leaving aside coronavirus, education finished as the third most pressing issue for New Orleans respondents, behind crime/criminal justice and the economy/jobs. Twice as many of those polled this year cited the economy as the top issue as compared to last year. Notably, the economy was the top concern for White respondents (31%), while crime/criminal justice was the top concern for Black respondents (30%)

One area where respondents’ attitudes changed from 2019 to 2020 was in the realm of increasing taxes to pay for education. This arguably could be a byproduct of the financial insecurity brought on by the pandemic for many families. Last year, 55% of respondents stated they agreed or strongly agreed with the idea of paying more in taxes for better schools compared to 40% this year.

Support varied along socioeconomic lines, with 58% of respondents from households making $75,000 or more annually supporting the idea, compared to 39% of respondents from households making under $75,000 annually. Support did not vary much along racial lines, with 40% of Black respondents supporting increased taxation to pay for education, and 43% of White respondents supporting the idea. Support also varied slightly by the type of school respondents' children attended. 44% of public school respondents said they support increased taxation compared to 38% of non-public school respondents.

We asked respondents with at least one child enrolled in a public school if they think New Orleans high schools are preparing students well for college. The majority of respondents believe that New Orleans high schools are preparing students well for college and that students are succeeding at their postgraduate institutions after they matriculate from high school. 69% of all respondents believed the city’s high schools are preparing students for college. 68% believed high school graduates are succeeding at college, which was a 27% increase from 2019.

We asked all respondents about paying for post-secondary education. 73% of respondents stated they were concerned or very concerned about the cost of college. Interestingly, even with the economic unrest caused by COVID, this was a 17% drop from what respondents reported last year. Respondents with the highest household incomes were the most concerned about the cost of college (89%).