Education back on residents list of concerns

For the first time since 2008, 29 percent of Louisiana Survey respondents –nearly three out of 10 – said that education is the biggest problem facing the state. The Louisiana Survey is conducted on an annual basis by LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, or PPRL, and is sponsored by the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs in the Manship School of Mass Communication.

Over the past year, the number of residents identifying education as the most important issue increased by 9 points from 20 to 29 percent, while the number identifying the economy decreased slightly from 25 percent to 23 percent.

“This is the first time that education surpassed economy as the state’s most pressing concern since 2008,” said Amy Reynolds, director of the Reilly Center and associate dean of graduate studies at the Manship School. “Together with the rest of our findings, this suggests that residents’ views of Louisiana priorities are shifting overall.”

Unlike the rest of the state, New Orleans residents believe crime rivals education and the economy as the public’s top concern. Sixteen percent of respondents cite crime as the most important problem, more than double that of any other area.

Almost 2 out of 5 (36 percent) residents have confidence that state government will effectively address the most important problem facing the state. Since 2009, confidence in state government to address the most important issues has declined by 28 points from 64 percent to 36 percent.

Right Direction? Wrong Direction? Residents Evenly Split

Forty-four percent of Louisiana residents said the state is headed in the wrong direction, down 8 points (from 52) in 2013. There has been little movement from last year in the number of respondents who believe the state is heading in the right direction; only 41 percent of residents said the state is headed in the right direction.

The biggest shift demonstrated in the survey was in the “don’t know” responses, which increased from 10 percent in 2013 to 15 percent in 2014 and suggests that Louisianans are feeling increased uncertainty about the state’s direction.

To look further into the data, gender, political affiliation, wealth and location impact responses.
· 47 percent of men compared to 35 percent of women said the state is heading in the right direction.
· 1 in 2 residents earning between $100,000 and $200,000 said the state is heading in the right direction compared to slightly less than 1 in 4 residents earning between $10,000 and $20,000.
· 55 percent of Republicans compared to 37 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of Independents said the state is moving in the right direction.
· Residents in Southwest Louisiana and in the Northshore and surrounding parishes are most optimistic about the direction of the state.

About the Louisiana Survey
The mission of the Louisiana Survey is to establish benchmarks and assess progress and regressions in residents’ assessments of state government services. The 2014 Louisiana Survey includes a traditional landline telephone survey combined with a survey of Louisiana cell phone users. The results are weighted to reflect current population demographics as reflected in the most recently available U.S. Census data.

The combined survey includes 1,095 respondents, including 571 respondents selected from landline telephone numbers via random-digit dialing and 524 respondents selected from available cell phone blocks. Interviews were conducted from Feb. 4 to Feb. 24. The overall survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points.