More than two-thirds of Enquirer readers who responded to a recent online survey about educational issues favored George W. Bush over Al Gore as the presidential candidate who would better address their concerns on improving education.

        Of the 54 e-mail responses received, 23 people listed the candidates' education platform as “very important,” to deciding how they will vote. Seven people, or 13 percent, said education is “not important” to determining their choice for president, while the remainder said the issue is “important” or “somewhat important.”

        The non-scientific poll is one in a series focusing on campaign issues.

        Of the people responding to the poll who deemed education “very important” to determing how they will vote, 13 people picked Mr. Gore as the candidate who better addresses their concerns on education while 10 people picked Mr. Bush.

        Education has become a focus of this election, with each candidate battling to prove he will better serve America's children.

        Mr. Bush has said the nation is in an “education recession” and touts school accountability, including mandatory student testing in grades three through eight for school that receive Title I money. He also supports school vouchers for students in Title I schools that don't show improvement within three years.

        Mr. Gore said education should be the No. 1 national priority. He, too, stresses school accountability, saying schools that don't meet standards should be shut down and reopened under new leadership. He opposes school vouchers.

        Delhi resident Marty Hanon, 62, listed the candidates' platform on education as “very important” to determining her presidential pick. A retired teacher of Southwest Schools, Ms. Hanon said she believes Mr. Gore will invest more money in public schools.

        She also disagrees with Mr. Bush's plan to test children in grades three through eight, especially in light of controversy Ohio is facing with regard to the Ohio Proficiency Test.

        Mostly, she especially supports Mr. Gore's plan to provide universal preschool for all 4-year-olds.

        Ms. Hanon said when she was a teacher, she saw the benefits of Head Start, child development programs administered through government agencies that serve children from birth to age 5, pregnant women and their families.

        “I saw many little children in high poverty areas that came to school not knowing their colors or how to count,” she said. “When they had Head Start, they knew these things ... Teachers didn't have to spend months and months teaching this because children came in ready to learn.”

        Hamilton resident Dave Suffel, 48, favors Mr. Bush as the candidate who would better address his concerns on education.

        Mr. Suffel, whose wife is a band director at Winton Woods High School, said Mr. Bush seems to be closer to the issues facing education because Mr. Bush's wife, Laura, was an elementary school teacher.

        “With his wife as a teacher, he would have firsthand knowledge of what is going on in schools,” Mr. Suffel said.

        He said Mr. Gore's ideas on education don't seem to come from research or close personal experience, but rather from the National Education Association, a teachers' union, which he said is not in line with a large group of teachers.

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