Support Remains Soft for California Ballot Measure Crucial to Public Colleges
A California ballot measure designed to avoid deep cuts in state spending on higher education, among other costs, currently enjoys the support of 55 percent of likely voters, according to the results of a poll released on Wednesday. But the poll, conducted on behalf of the University of Southern California and Policy Analysis for California Education, a nonpartisan research center, also suggests that support could weaken by Election Day. “Its prospects are partly cloudy with a chance of rain,” said Benjamin C. Tulchin, president of Tulchin Research, which conducted the poll along with M4 Strategies. The measure, known as Proposition 30, was put forth by Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. It would temporarily raise the state’s sales tax by a quarter cent and impose additional income taxes on top earners in order to close a $15.7-billion state-budget shortfall. If the measure fails to win voter support in November, the University of California system, the California State University system, and the California community colleges would face a “trigger cut” of $963-million in January, on top of several rounds of steep cuts since 2008.
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by Lee Gardner, The Chronicle of Higher Education.