newjerseynewsroom.com

Public also supports state employee layoffs

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Gov. Chris Christie is winning the hearts and minds of New Jerseyans in his continuous verbal battle with the statewide teachers union over how to improve public schools while cutting costs and unloading bad teachers.

Public opinion of the New Jersey Education Association is a negative 21 to 46 percent, including a negative 23 to 45 percent among parents, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

The NJEA is playing a negative role in improving New Jersey schools, residents say 54 to 36 percent, including 56 to 36 percent among parents.

New Jerseyans split on whom they trust more to make the right decisions on teacher contracts, with 46 percent trusting Christie and 44 percent trusting the teachers union.

Merit pay for outstanding teachers is a good idea, New Jerseyans say 67 to 28 percent. By a similar 65 to 29 percent margin, voters say it should be easier to fire bad teachers.

Public school teacher salaries are "about right," 51 percent of New Jerseyans say, while 23 percent say they are too high and 18 percent say they are too low. Parents have similar opinions.

"It looks a lot like one of those classic hit-the-other-guy judgments," Maurice Carroll, the poll's director, said. "We want to cut services to balance the budget, but we don't want to cut aid to local government and schools. New Jerseyans like the people who teach their kids, but they don't like their union. That union bugaboo – merit pay – gets high marks. So does making it easier to fire bad teachers."

New Jersey's budget problems are "very serious," 86 percent of residents agree, while 13 percent say they are "somewhat serious."

New Jerseyans support layoffs for state workers 54 to 39 percent, the poll found with Republicans backing the action 66 to 25 percent while independents support it 56 to 38 percent. However, Democrats oppose layoffs 53 to 40 percent. Women support the action 50 to 43 percent while men back it 58 to 35 percent.

New Jerseyans also support other cutbacks to state workers by 63 to 25 percent, including 52 to 33 percent among Democrats, and for furloughs, 78 to 19 percent, including 63 to 31 percent among Democrats, for a wage freeze.

Christie gets a 52 to 42 percent approval for his handling of the state budget, compared to his overall 51 to 38 percent job approval. He is the only governor or mayor in any state surveyed by Quinnipiac whose approval for handling the state budget is not well below his overall job approval.

"Literally everybody – just a tick short of 100 percent – agrees that the state's in bad budget trouble," Carroll said. "In the cross hairs: public employees. To help with the budget, a majority now supports layoffs. By a bit more, we'd approve furloughs, and by a lot, we'd like a wage freeze."

New Jerseyans say 62 to 26 percent that they would rather cut services than raise taxes to help balance the state budget. Democrats are divided with 43 percent for raising taxes and 41 percent for cutting services. Urban voters say raise taxes 45 to 41 percent.

But 29 percent of New Jerseyans say state aid to local governments and school districts should be increased, while 15 percent say state aid should be decreased and 52 percent say keep aid levels the same.

From Nov. 3 through Monday, Quinnipiac surveyed 1,362 New Jersey voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.