The message is hitting home: ‘Don’t cut schools!’ 

Grassroots advocacy activities by CSBA and other public school advocates about the potentially devastating impacts of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed spending cuts are resonating with Californians, who say they are increasingly concerned about protecting public services from draconian budget reductions.

A new poll released March 26 by the Public Policy Institute of California concluded that more and more taxpayers are willing to consider a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to deal with the state’s budget woes, rather than relying on spending reductions alone. When asked how they would most prefer to deal with the state’s budget gap, 42 percent of Californians choose a mix of spending cuts, up from 36 percent in December.

Public concern about the impact of proposed budget cuts on public services has grown dramatically in recent months, pollsters said, as “the reality of state spending cuts hits home” among state residents. The poll found that 56 percent of those surveyed are “very concerned” about the potential effects of the governor’s budget proposals, up 20 points since January.

In the months since the governor released his preliminary budget recommendations, which called for all state departments to cut spending by 10 percent, school boards across the state have had to cut crucial education programs, send pink-slip layoff warnings to thousands of teachers and schedule dozens of school closures for next fall.

CSBA and other members of the Education Coalition have been working hard to provide specific examples of exactly how the governor’s proposed cuts would hurt public schools and students as part of a public information campaign called “Schools: An Investment We Can’t Afford to Cut.” The message, apparently, is getting through.

“Californians are rethinking their priorities, given what they’ve learned about spending cuts over the past couple of months,” said PPIC President and CEO Mark Baldassare. “More and more Californians are coming to believe that spending cuts alone are not the way to manage the current budget situation, and more and more Californians are concerned about the effect these cuts would have upon public services like schools, public health and public safety.“

Baldassare said that as increased numbers of Californians become concerned about state and federal economic downturns, they become more protective of critical governmental services like schools. “They are feeling financially squeezed as a result of the economic downturn,” he said. “Any reduction in state services may only add to their sense of vulnerability."

CSBA President Paul H. Chatman welcomed the new poll data. "CSBA has been saying all year that an honest and long-term solution to the state's budget crisis would not be possible until all options - including revenues - were put on the table,” he said. “The PPIC survey demonstrates that the public understands this, so now it is time for state policymakers to step up to the plate and deliver."

The new poll concluded that more Californians are willing to support tax increases to balance the state budget now than in December, with 42 percent saying they favor a combination of cuts and tax increases to reduce the state budget deficit, compared with just 20 percent three months ago.

Democrats are still more likely than Republicans to consider increasing taxes to preserve services, but 10 percent more Republicans, 35 percent, now say they are willing to favor a mixture of spending cuts and tax increases than were willing to consider this option when the question was asked in December.

Related link:
http://www.ppic.org/main/home.asp