 |
Many polls
on public education confirm voters' strong support for the resources needed for
quality public schools and institutions of higher education. Alan Lubin, at center
in photo, of New York State United Teachers talks with staff at the union's polling
center, where overnight polling is conducted to provide a snapshot of public opinion.
"Consistently we find results that confirm the findings of the Quinnipiac
poll," Lubin said. "Voters see public education as a high priority,
a finding that holds true even in challenging economic times." Photo
by Rick Flemming. | The public overwhelmingly wants the
state to provide more money for education, independent pollsters say. And the
momentum for public education is growing so much that one independent poll found
that New Yorkers say 3-to-1 that the state should raise taxes on the rich to pay
for it. "New Yorkers are almost unanimous when they say: Hands off our schools,"
said Maurice Carroll, director of the independent Quinnipiac University Polling
Institute, which has tracked voters' opinions throughout the budget process. "They
would rather tax the rich. They would even prefer raising state taxes to hold
the line on local taxes and to help the schools." In the mid-April poll
of 885 New York state registered voters, Gov. George Pataki's negative rating
soared, with 63 percent opposed to his handling of the state budget. By an 88
to 9 percent margin, voters said the governor's plan to cut aid to local schools
was a bad idea. In February, 85 percent of those polled by Quinnipiac opposed
the governor's plan to cut school aid. "Gov. Pataki says he's being consistent
with his anti-tax message," Carroll said. "But voters don't like how he's dealing
with the state's big fiscal problems." The April survey found that 71 percent
of voters would support "a temporary tax increase on the wealthy" to balance the
state budget. By a 61 to 30 percent vote, respondents said they would support
a plan similar to one being considered in Pennsylvania where state income taxes
would be raised with the money going to increase school aid and lower local property
taxes. These pro-education numbers are even stronger than earlier polls,
indicating support just keeps growing as voters learn about the devastating impact
of budget cuts. A March poll by Peter D. Hart Associates of 460 registered voters
found that 53 percent of voters think New York spends too little on education,
while just 10 percent believe the state spends too much. Respondents were most
concerned that the budget cuts would lead to double digit increases in property
taxes, teacher layoffs and skyrocketing class sizes. When given a choice
between Pataki's "no new taxes" position and a statement calling for an alternative
approach, voters in the Hart survey also rejected the Pataki position and embraced
the alternative by a 2-to-1 ratio. Fifty-nine percent of voters agreed that,
instead of cutting funding for public schools and colleges, "we should be asking
big corporations and people with the highest incomes to help carry the load by
paying their fair share of taxes," according to Hart. | 
