WASHINGTON -- Delegates to the Republican National Convention say education should be the No. 1 priority of the next president, while Democratic delegates put health care at the top of their list, according to interviews by The Associated Press.

Education is a close second for the Democratic delegates, who will convene in Los Angeles beginning Aug. 14. Taxes are No. 2 for the Republicans, whose convention begins Monday in Philadelphia.

The concerns shown in the AP interviews of both delegations are in line with the major platform issues of the parties' nominees. Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush has promised education reforms and deep tax cuts, while Democratic Vice President Al Gore has pledged to make sweeping changes in health care as well as implement various education measures.

''We're the greatest nation on Earth and we have people who can't afford to go to the doctor, or who can't afford the premiums that insurance companies charge,'' said Democratic delegate Linda Stoval of Casper, Wyo.

Health care was the issue mentioned most often 30 percent by Democratic delegates who were asked what the next president should make his top priority. Education came in a close second at 29 percent, while the economy was named by 16 percent.

Among Republicans, 21 percent suggested that education be the next president's first concern, while 13 percent said it should be taxes. The economy and foreign policy each got nearly 11 percent.

Health care was named by only 6 percent of the Republican delegates, behind moral values, which received votes from nearly 9 percent.

Republican Barbara Spillinger said education should be No. 1.

A delegate from the District of Columbia, Spillinger said she is troubled by conditions in her city's public school system, which was taken over by a federally appointed panel three years ago.

''Maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm so acutely concerned about this,'' she said. ''The success of the nation depends on the education of its citizens.''

As for the level of taxes, Matthew McCaulley, a Republican from Sioux Falls, S.D., said simply: ''It's just obscene.''

Education, the economy and Social Security have routinely topped the list of the most important issues named by Americans in national polls. Moral values and health care also are mentioned frequently.

Stoval, the Democratic delegate from Wyoming, said health care became her torch issue when her insurance company recently raised her premiums after she underwent a cancer-related operation.

''We all pay and pay and pay and then when we have a claim, our rates go up,'' she said. ''For me, I still go and my husband and I can afford the premiums, but I cannot imagine how a single parent, or people who have minimum wage jobs afford health care or health expenses.''

But Stoval agreed with her GOP counterparts that education should also be among the next president's top concerns.

Sharon Nusbaum, a Democratic delegate from Norfolk, Va., said the quality of education can greatly affect the nation.

''Education relates to a strong economy, it relates to the ability to work, and leads to self-reliance,'' she said.

But Shirley Cairns, a Democrat from Oakland, Ore., said the nation would be hurt more if it failed to take care of its people's health.

''In the long run, we're going to pay for what we're not doing in terms of preventive health care,'' she said. ''We have malnourished children with poor dental care and poor eye care. They may not suffer immediately, but the long-term costs are going to be high.''

EDITOR'S NOTE: The AP questionnaire was based on interviews with 1,831 out of 2,066 Republican convention delegates and 3,568 out of 4,338 Democratic convention delegates.