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Education top issue in Philly, Pew finds

Education is the most important issue to Philadelphians - more important than crime, jobs and the economy, a new study released Monday by the Pew Charitable Trusts found.

Education is the most important issue to Philadelphians - more important than crime, jobs and the economy, a new study released Monday by the Pew Charitable Trusts found.

City residents who had an opinion also overwhelmingly - by a four to one margin - favor eliminating the School Reform Commision, want an elected school board, and "have an extremely low opinion of the performance of the public school system."

Philadelphians are mixed on charters - they view them generally positively, but most back the idea of spending more money on traditional public schools instead of creating new charters.

Thirty-two percent of city residents view education as the top issue, according to Pew, with 23 percent viewing crime as the paramount issue and 22 percent for jobs and the economy. Residents' view of city schools has worsened over time, with 77 percent of Philadelphians calling the public school system only fair or poor in 2015, compared to 63 percent in 2009.

A citywide random sample of 1,603 residents was polled.