Support K-12 Education Say Californians, But Tax “The Other Guy”
(En Español) Likely voters in California favor Governor Jerry Brown’s initiative to temporarily increase taxes to support K-12 education, according to a new Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll. But they are less supportive of the overall budget proposal and want to tax someone other than themselves.Tying the tax increase to support for K-12 schools appears to be working for the Governor, with majorities among Democrats (83 percent), independents (67 percent) and Republicans (67 percent) in favor of the idea. Support for other state activities – higher education, health and human services and prisons and corrections – was much lower (each under 20 percent).
Illustrating the balancing act for the Governor, when asked about his overall budget approach, Californians were much more skeptical, believing that the state still has room to cut. They do not like the plan to temporarily raise the sales tax for everyone but prefer increasing taxes for wage earners above $250,000 a year ($500,000 joint filers). And they support a split role on property taxes for individuals and commercial land owners. However, tweaking Proposition 13 – long the third-rail of California politics – is done at grave political peril.
Meanwhile, the Governor’s approval rating continues to inch higher while the legislature’s remains near historic lows. Few Californians think they can work things out.
Visit the PPIC website to view the complete poll.
Catholic schools receive no government funds, of course, but students, eligible teachers and their families receive many of the same services provided for all U.S. students. Accessing these services, however, takes vigilant persistence and, sometimes, a little reminding, says Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Patricia Supple, director of federal and state programs for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Department of Catholic Schools.
The Supreme Court of the United States has upheld an Arizona program which grants tax credits for contributions to scholarship programs that provide tuition support to students attending K-12 private schools.
California’s Department of Education is making a major effort to address the State’s “drop-out” crisis, but only recently (2008) began improving the accuracy of reporting. With an estimated one in four children not completing high school—and an alarmingly high rate among minorities – the effort to explore initiatives such as linked learning is intensifying.
