(BOISE, Id.) — A new, statewide poll commissioned by the Freedom Foundation shows that, by wide margins, Idaho voters support changing state law to prevent taxpayer funds and government resources from being used to support teachers unions.
- 66% of Idaho voters support getting public schools out of the business of collecting union dues on behalf of teachers unions. Only 22% are opposed.
- 54% support prohibiting taxpayer funds from supporting teacher union activities. Only 32% are opposed.
- 53% support requiring teachers unions to reimburse public schools for time teachers spent on union business during working hours. Only 34% are opposed.
- 51% support giving rival unions and nonprofit groups the same access to public school facilities and resources that incumbent teachers unions enjoy. Only 32% are opposed.
Support for these reforms is strongest among Republican voters, though the proposals are also broadly popular among independents. Democrats and voters in union households are generally more evenly divided. Each proposal wins the backing of a majority or plurality of voters in every Idaho media market.
More details about the poll are available in this memo.
For more information see:
- Freedom Foundation: Free Ride: How Idaho Tax Dollars Support Teachers Unions
- Mountain States Policy Center: Taxpayers funding teachers unions? In Idaho, it’s all too common
Founded in Olympia, Wash., as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation in 1991, the Freedom Foundation is today spearheading efforts around the county to make government unions more accountable to their members and taxpayers. It is not affiliated with the Idaho Freedom Foundation established in 2009.
Contact:
Maxford Nelsen
Director of Research and Government Affairs
mnelsen@freedomfoundation.com
(360) 362-3991
