Thursday, November 12, 2009
Californians see higher education budget cuts, fee hikes as big problems
A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California finds that Californians give high grades to their public higher education systems, but they are worried about college costs and the impact of state budget cuts.
In the context of the state budget situation, most Californians place a very high (26%) or high (33%) priority on spending for public higher education, which at $12.2 billion is the third-largest area of spending in the budget. But residents split along partisan lines, with 67 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents putting a very high or high priority on spending in this area, compared to 42 percent of Republicans. The same percentage of Republicans (42%) puts a medium priority on higher education spending.
Given the high value that most Californians place on spending for higher education, what would they be willing to do to offset state spending cuts?
-- 68 percent are unwilling to increase student fees. Solid majorities across parties, regions, and demographic groups concur.
-- 56 percent are unwilling to pay higher taxes. Although 56 percent of Democrats are willing to pay higher taxes for this purpose, 58 percent of independents and 74 percent of Republicans are not.
-- 53 percent would support a higher education construction bond measure on the 2010 ballot. But support is lower among likely voters (46% yes, 47% no) for this hypothetical bond measure and would fall short of the simple majority threshold needed to pass such a measure.
FULL PRESS RELEASE (pdf, 56K)
In the context of the state budget situation, most Californians place a very high (26%) or high (33%) priority on spending for public higher education, which at $12.2 billion is the third-largest area of spending in the budget. But residents split along partisan lines, with 67 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents putting a very high or high priority on spending in this area, compared to 42 percent of Republicans. The same percentage of Republicans (42%) puts a medium priority on higher education spending.
Given the high value that most Californians place on spending for higher education, what would they be willing to do to offset state spending cuts?
-- 68 percent are unwilling to increase student fees. Solid majorities across parties, regions, and demographic groups concur.
-- 56 percent are unwilling to pay higher taxes. Although 56 percent of Democrats are willing to pay higher taxes for this purpose, 58 percent of independents and 74 percent of Republicans are not.
-- 53 percent would support a higher education construction bond measure on the 2010 ballot. But support is lower among likely voters (46% yes, 47% no) for this hypothetical bond measure and would fall short of the simple majority threshold needed to pass such a measure.
FULL PRESS RELEASE (pdf, 56K)
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