THE TIMES POLL : State Residents Oppose Cutting School Funds

Californians emphatically oppose Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposal to help erase the state budget deficit by cutting education spending, and many even are willing to pay higher taxes for schools, the Los Angeles Times Poll has found.

The governor not only is having a tough time persuading the Legislature to suspend Proposition 98--the law that guarantees schools 40% of the state general fund--but he has not come close to selling the public on this controversial idea, the survey showed.

Neither has Wilson made his case for cutting welfare benefits. People oppose that by nearly 2 to 1, the poll found.

Further, citizens side with Democratic legislators and against the Republican governor on another major issue in their budget fight--whether to “soak the rich” with higher taxes. Eight in 10 of those interviewed said that if taxes must be hiked, they favor raising the state income tax on individuals who earn more than $100,000 and couples who take in more than $200,000.

Generally, people are allied with Wilson in his preference for raising the sales tax rather than their own income taxes. The public does seem grudgingly resigned to digging deeper for either a higher sales or income tax--or both--in order to eliminate a revenue shortfall now projected at $14.3 billion over the next 13 months.

The poll also found that while Californians agree with Democrats on the crucial issues of education and welfare cuts, the Republican governor holds one important advantage as the two sides head into intense negotiations over a state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Wilson’s advantage is that he enjoys a lot more public support than the Legislature.

Among those surveyed, 52% approve of the way Wilson is handling his job and 34% disapprove. For the Legislature, the figures are almost reversed, with just 33% approving of its job performance and 49% disapproving.

The Times Poll, directed by John Brennan, questioned 1,679 California adults, representing a randomly selected cross-section of the state. The telephone interviews were conducted from May 18-21. The margin of error for the findings is 3 percentage points in either direction for the entire sample and higher for some subgroups.

“Californians are particularly sensitive about education right now,” Brennan noted in analyzing the poll results. “It’s at the top of their list of state problems and at the bottom of their list of possible budget cuts.”

The public’s strong support for schools--and willingness to back it up with higher taxes--was shown in several ways.

People were read a list of programs and problems and asked which they would be willing to pay higher taxes for. Each respondent was allowed up to two answers. By far the biggest support was voiced for education, with 52% agreeing to help schools with a tax increase. Next came fighting crime, 32%; health care, 31%; the homeless, 29%, and the environment, 26%. In all, 70% said they would be willing to pay higher taxes for a specific purpose.

People also were asked what they consider to be “the most important problem facing California today.” In this case, interviewers did not read from a list--the responses were volunteered--and only one answer was allowed. Again, education was cited most frequently, by 16% of those interviewed. Next came crime, 11%; the drought, 10%, and the state budget deficit, 9%. As for the drought, 58% reported that there is a “serious” water shortage in their community.

At another point, people were read a list of state services and programs and asked which they thought should be cut the least, if any had to be cut at all. Only one answer was allowed. Even so, 51% replied that education should be protected from funding cuts. No other program came close. In second place was services for the elderly, with 11% support.

Looking at it another way, people were asked which programs should be cut the most . Only 1% answered education. The most popular candidate for a funding reduction was parks and recreation, at 33%.

Separately, those interviewed were queried whether they favor cutting welfare benefits by 8.8%, which would cost a family of three $61 per month. Wilson has proposed this and Democrats are objecting. Californians hold the Democrats’ view, opposing this welfare cut by 62% to 32%.

Wilson also is battling to suspend Proposition 98, which voters passed in 1988. That move could cost public schools $2 billion. The California Teachers Assn. is waging an all-out fight against the governor’s plan, and Democrats, so far, are siding with the CTA. So is the public, according to the survey.

After being briefly reminded of details about the school funding measure, people asserted by a lopsided 73% to 20% that “to help solve the state’s budget crisis it is not necessary to suspend Proposition 98.” And 57% felt that way “strongly.”

Wilson is not backed by his fellow Republicans on welfare and education cuts. Among his GOP constituents, 56% oppose reductions in welfare and 66% object to suspending Proposition 98.

The citizens’ attitudes toward California’s schools seem rooted more in concern than an endorsement of the education system. Nearly half--48%--rated the quality of their local public schools as inadequate or very poor. Only 45% regarded them as adequate or excellent.

By comparison, 57% rated the quality of services provided by state government as adequate or better. Also, 74% gave similar good marks to local government services.

City residents were the most unhappy with their schools, while people in small towns were the most satisfied. Significantly, the parents of children attending public schools seemed relatively content with the institutions. Sixty percent rated them adequate or excellent.

Although the public is opposed to funding cuts, it believes strongly that schools have not been making good use of their money. Sixty-one percent agreed that “we can improve the quality of California’s education system by using the money we spend now more wisely.” Only 35% thought more money is needed to improve schools.

In fact, 69% of those surveyed blamed “wasteful, unnecessary government spending” for at least “a good amount” of the state’s budget problems. On average, they pegged the waste at 25 cents of every dollar spent. Heading the list of “wasteful” things, in their view, are a bloated bureaucracy, high salaries and expenses, including travel.

Just as the Legislature is divided over the issue of spending cuts versus tax hikes, so is the public. When people were asked what they consider to be “the best solution to the state’s financial problems”--reduced spending and services or paying higher taxes to retain present levels of service--they responded with split views: 34% opted for higher taxes, 31% advocated spending cuts and 26% wanted some of both.

The people are less polarized than their elected representatives on taxes. While many GOP legislators are resisting Wilson’s tax proposals, a majority of Republican and Democratic citizens said some tax increases “are necessary to solve the state’s budget problems.” Roughly half the people--Republicans and Democrats alike--said they are satisfied with the state income and sales taxes they have been paying.

People are split more along party lines regarding program cuts. Two-thirds of Republicans felt they are necessary, but slightly more than half the Democrats said service reductions are not needed.

There is a resignation about taxes going up, interviews showed. About seven in 10 expect to be paying either a higher sales or income tax. Slightly more than half figure both taxes will be raised.

If taxes have to be raised, people of all income levels would rather see the sales tax increased than the income tax; 69% preferred sales and only 24% income.

Wilson has proposed a 1.25% sales tax hike and people said, by 58% to 40%, that they are willing to pay that “if necessary to help reduce the budget deficit.”

Hardly anybody is clamoring for a tax increase. The message from this survey seemed to be that most people will accept some tax hike to erase the budget deficit or perhaps improve schools, but they are not handing Sacramento a blank check.

Indeed, when people were asked what they generally regard as “the greatest danger”--cutting spending “to the point where essential government services are threatened” or raising taxes “to the point where people won’t be able to handle the burden”--they answered, by 2 to 1, that their biggest fear is being overwhelmed by taxes.

Right now, people are divided about evenly and split along party lines over whether the Republican governor or Democratic legislators are doing the better job of trying to resolve the state’s budget dilemma.

One political plus for Wilson is that few people blame him for the crisis. The leading culprits, in the view of those surveyed, are the Legislature, former Gov. George Deukmejian and government waste generally.

How the Poll Was Conducted

* The Los Angeles Times Poll interviewed 1,679 adult Californians statewide, by telephone, May 18-21, 1991. Telephone numbers were generated from a computer list that includes all telephone exchanges in the state. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that each region of the state is properly represented and that both listed and unlisted residences have an opportunity to be contacted. Results are adjusted to conform with census figures on characteristics such as sex, race, age, education and household size. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For percentages based on certain subgroups, the error margin is somewhat higher.

The Los Angeles Times Poll

How Californians View Tax Hikes, Service Cuts and State Budget Deficit

The Los Angeles Times Poll asked 1,679 Californians their feelings about raising taxes, cutting services or programs and reducing the state budget deficit.

* Do you think it is necessary or not necessary for some taxes to be raised/some services or programs to be cut in California this year to solve the state’s budget problems?

SERVICE OR TAX INCREASES PROGRAM CUTS Necessary 52% 51% Not necessary 44 42 Don’t Know 4 7

* If services and programs have to be cut, which one of these do you think should be cut the most/least:

CUT MOST CUT LEAST Recreation 33% 3% Transportation 13 2 Prisons/Crime prevention 12 5 Environment 10 5 Drug programs 5 4 Poverty 3 5 Education 1 51 Elderly 1 11 Welfare 1 - Children - 6 Other programs 2 1 No programs 11 4 Don’t know 8 3

* If higher fees and taxes do become necessary to help offset the state budget deficit, would you prefer the state to:

YES NO Increase alcoholic beverage taxes 83% 16 Raise income taxes on wealthy 79% 17 Add sales tax on candy, snack foods 57% 41 Add sales tax on 51% 47 newspapers, magazines Increase motor vehicle fees 41% 58 Cut welfare benefits by 8.8% or 32% 62 $61 a month for a family of three Cut renter’s tax credit 23% 68 Add 6% tax on telephone bills 20% 79

* If a tax increase is necessary to help reduce the state budget deficit, would you prefer paying a:

YES Higher sales tax 69% Higher income tax 24 Neither (volunteered response) 5 Don’t know 2

* Because of California’s state budget problems, do you personally expect to:

YES Pay more sales tax next year 71% Pay more income tax next year 67 Be hurt by cutbacks in 36 government services

* Out of every dollar spent on the state budget, how many cents do you think are wasted on fraud and inefficiency?

* The median average answer is 25 CENTS.