The Region - News from June 22, 1987

An overwhelming majority of Southern Californians are in favor of using $700 million in surplus state revenue for schools, according to a weekend poll in five counties. A telephone survey of 450 adults showed that 64% of Southern Californians would forgo a personal tax rebate of up to $95 for individuals and $190 for couples so that the money could instead be spent on public education. The poll, taken in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, was conducted for KABC television by Teichner Associates. It has a 4.5% margin of error. State Schools Supt. Bill Honig immediately seized on the numbers as proof that the public has sided with him in a long and often harsh debate with Gov. George Deukmejian over state spending priorities. “The administration has underestimated the intelligence of the people,” Honig said after hearing the results. “The people don’t want the quick fifty bucks. They want it to go to services. They want the money put toward schools.”