Confidence in US public schools at record low

(AP) - A new poll says that confidence in U.S. public schools has dropped to the lowest level in nearly four decades.

Twenty-nine percent of those questioned in a Gallup poll said they had a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in public schools. Forty percent had some confidence while 30 percent expressed little or none.

When Gallup first measured confidence in public schools in 1973, 58 percent reported having a strong belief in the country's educational system. Since then, that number has steadily tracked downward.

The survey released Wednesday also found record lows in public confidence in churches or organized religion, banks and television news.

The poll, based on interviews with 1,004 adults June 7-10, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.