Public Opinion on School Funding and Teacher Salaries: The Information Gap Explained?

Abstract

We evaluate public opinion on the sufficiency of school funding and teacher salaries in the United States, using a representative survey (n = 12,151). Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020/2021), with schools and teachers having a reduced role due to homeschooling. While opinions are diverse for sufficiency of school funding, most respondents indicated that teacher salaries should increase. For respondents who received additional information about average school funding and teacher salaries, the overall opinion about funding and salaries being insufficient was less strong. Furthermore, this information effect differs as per respondents’ demographic variables.