While Coloradans are discouraged by the state of public education, they support school choice and equal funding for charters, a new public opinion survey from an education advocacy group has found.

Only 31% of respondents said they feel Colorado public education is headed in the right direction.

The poll twice asked likely voters their opinion of charter schools. Before explaining that charter schools are tuition free public schools with more flexibility to hire teachers and set curriculum, roughly half of residents expressed a favorable opinion.

After the short explainer, approval jumped to 61%.

“School choice is incredibly popular among Colorado voters,” Brenda Dickhoner, president and CEO of Ready Colorado, said in a press release.

Dickhoner added, “Voters across the political spectrum want to see not only equal funding for charter schools, but believe families have a fundamental right to choose the best school for their child.”

Last school year, 265 charter schools served more than 134,000 students in Colorado, according to the Colorado League of Charter Schools.

Other highlights of the poll include:

• Half of respondents feel public schools are underfunded, down from a high of 56% in 2019.

• Nearly two in three support equal funding for charter schools.

• Respondents favor legislators better prioritizing state pending (78%) rather than raising taxes (13%).

• Roughly two in three say teacher salaries are too low.

• Support for annual assessments dipped slightly compared to last year, with 71% backing the approach compared to 79% in 2022.

The Denver Gazette sought a response from multiple school districts —including Denver Public Schools, the state’s largest district — on the public opinion poll, but none responded.

Steve Welchert, a political strategist, cautioned the way a poll question is phrased could affect the response, casting doubt on support for school choice.

“If school vouchers were popular, they’d put it on the ballot and pass it,” Welchert said. “It’s misleading.”

Conducted by Ready Colorado from January 26-27 using phone interviews and text messages, the poll — which surveyed 540 Coloradans — has a margin of error of +/- 4.17 percentage points.

Roughly 85% of the respondents said they are likely to vote in the November general election.

Founded in 2015, Ready Colorado is a center-right education advocacy group.

The poll was the third in a statewide series. Previous polls were released in January 2022 and December 2019.

Visit readycolo.org to read the full report.