How Americans Would Slim Down Public Education

1. Which would be the best approach for your district to take if it was facing a serious budget deficit?

Cut costs by dramatically changing how it does business
Change as little as possible; wait for times to get better
Rely on tax increases
Something else
Don't know

2. If you had to choose, which would it be?

Cut all teacher salaries by 5 percent
Lay off 5 percent of teachers
Depends on the grade level of the students
Don't know

3. If you had no choice but to lay off teachers, which would be a more important factor?

Effectiveness: Lay off poor performers first and protect excellent performers
Years of service: Lay off newcomers first and protect veterans
Depends on the grade level of students
Don't know

4. If you had to choose between these two options, which would it be?

Larger class of 27 students taught by one of the district's best performing teachers
Smaller class of 22 taught by a randomly chosen teacher
Depends on the grade level of students
Don't know

5. There are also virtual schools, where students take some or all of their classes online. Students do much of their work over the Internet and the teacher is online. Do you think that virtual schools are generally:

A good idea
A bad idea
A good option, but only for students who have difficulty in traditional schools
None of these/Something else
Don't know

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