Public schools and education and mass transit are most often cited as important regional issues by Charlotte/Mecklenburg residents.

That is one of the key findings in a new survey commissioned by WFAE 90.7fm.

As part of its effort to identify the issues that regional citizens find as the most pressing, WFAE commissioned the Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte to survey attitudes among a scientific, random sample of residents in Mecklenburg County . The Urban Institute conducted the polling from August to October.

WFAE's data was gathered from 850 survey respondents. The Urban Institute estimates that the survey's results are valid, plus or minus 4 percentage points, at the 98 percent confidence level.

When asked to reflect on regional issues, survey respondents most often cited public schools and education (44 percent of the poll's sample).

When ask to list the top three regional issues, survey respondents also focused on mass transit (24.4 percent); crime (20.8 percent); population growth (13.1 percent) and immigration (12.4 percent).

According to WFAE's General Manager Roger Sarow, the WFAE Civic Survey is an effort to align local citizen dialogue with an objective view of public needs and concerns.

           
"We know that our WFAE listeners are interested in community debate and constructive problem solving. Constructive discussions are rare in today's super-heated media environment," Sarow commented. "We hope that a wide range of public servants and opinion leaders will make note of the Civic Survey findings, and use those findings to inform their public work."

          
When questioned about their opinions of most important national issues, 35 percent of the poll sample cited the Iraq War and the Middle East , a finding consistent with several national polls.

           
WFAE will use the Civic Survey results to inform coverage by the award-winning WFAE News Department, and in choosing topics for upcoming Charlotte Talks programs with Host Mike Collins.

Complete Poll Data