Mayor Michael Bloomberg blamed the advertising campaign from teachers unions for a Quinnipiac University poll that shows voters trust him less when it comes to dealing with public education.

He told reporters earlier today that he “could spend some money” to reverse public opinion (he has before), but largely shrugged off the criticism.

“Well, you know, somebody goes and runs a bunch of ads everyday on television, you can create exactly that poll,” Bloomberg said. “I guess I could spend some money and reverse the poll. The press would love it because it pays. A lot of this stuff is how you ask the question, but the point is the public agreed with the individual policies.”

The survey comes as Bloomberg and the United Federation of Teachers engage in a high-profile spat over criteria for a teacher evaluation plan.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew was quick to crow about the poll’s results.

“I want to thank millions of public school parents and other New Yorkers who have given their teachers such a vote of confidence,” he said in a statement. “Despite years of ugly rhetoric about teachers and their union from the Mayor and his allies, New Yorkers come down overwhelmingly on the side of those who go into schools every day and work hard to make children’s lives better.”

As he alluded, there was some good news for Bloomberg in the survey, which showed voters liked his idea to provide merit pay for teachers who do well.

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