More California voters favor than oppose Gov. Jerry Brown'due south sweeping programme to reform schoolhouse finance, and most are confronting the idea of lowering the threshold for approving local school parcel taxes from 2-thirds to a 55 percent majority, according to a new statewide poll.

Polls show mixed support for Gov. Jerry Brown's Local Control Funding Formula.

Gov. Jerry Brown

An even 50 percent of respondents told pollsters they favored – while 39 percentage opposed – the thought of having "some coin diverted from middle and upper course children to low income children and English language language learners." That's a key element of the Local Control Funding Formula for schools that the governor is proposing to phase in over the adjacent 7 years. Brown plans to use increased revenue from Suggestion 30, approved in November, and the growth in state revenues, and he adds the caveat that, in shifting resource to needy children, no district volition receive less money than it currently spends.

Results of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll of 1,501 registered voters broke downwards along economic and indigenous lines, with those whose children would likely benefit existence more supportive of Chocolate-brown's program.

"There'southward a real dividing line. 'What's in it for my kids?' is probably what the divide is," said Drew Lieberman, vice president of the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, which conducted the poll, in a argument. Of those who make less than $fifty,000 per year, 63 per centum back the plan, while 45 percentage of those earning more than $l,000 and 42 percentage earning more than $100,000 like it. Latinos favored it 67 percent to 26 percent opposed, while 42 percent of whites said they support the programme with 46 pct against it.

The lukewarm backing of Brown's plan in the poll, released on Sunday, differs from findings of a January poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California of one,704 adults, not just registered voters. That poll establish significant support for the funding proposal – and proved that phrasing matters. While the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times wording mentioned "diverting" money from wealthy to poor students, PPIC'south question asked, "Governor Brown'south budget plan includes new K–12 school funding that will mostly go to local school districts that have more English language learners and lower income students. Do you lot favor or oppose this proposal?" 70-5 percent said they supported it, 21 percent opposed and iii percent said they didn't know.

Here are the responses to the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times questions on the parcel tax (#19) and the Local Control Funding Formula (#20). The columns, from left are strongly favir, somewhat favor, somewhat opposed, strong opposed, don't know (DK) and refused for all respondents, white and Latino voters (click to enlarge).

Hither are the responses to the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times questions on the parcel tax (#xix) and the Local Control Funding Formula (#20). The columns, from left, are strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, strongly oppose, don't know (DK) and refused for all respondents (peak line), white and Latino voters. (Click to enlarge)

"At that place is a lot of public back up in investing in vulnerable kids. It depends how the question is framed," said Samantha Tran, manager of pedagogy policy for Children Now, an Oakland-based advocacy organization that favors Brown'south proposal.

The other key element of Dark-brown's Local Control Funding Formula is to give local districts more control over how education dollars are spent. Many of the state rules dictating specific spending in areas similar school bus transportation, vocational training and summer schoolhouse – those specified in the USC Dornsife poll – would be rescinded. USC Dornsife institute 59 percent supported giving districts more than flexibility, with 31 percentage opposed. PPIC phrased the question differently, request whether voters had confidence school boards, given more control, would "use this money wisely." Seventy-i per centum said they were very or somewhat confident schoolhouse boards would do so, while 30 percent said they had footling or no confidence in their local boards to brand the correct calls.

Brown has proposed the new financing program as office the 2013-14 upkeep, which legislators will vote on before July one. Voters won't have a direct say in the outcome, although their legislators, particularly those in suburban and wealthy districts, will exist listening to constituents.

Voters, however, may get a say over a 55 per centum threshold for passing a parcel tax, if two-thirds of legislators approve putting a constitutional amendment on the effect before voters in 2014. Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is proposing to do so with Senate Constitutional Amendment 3. Brown has not taken a position on the amendment.

Here again, the USC Dornsife/LA Times and PPIC polls came upward with unlike findings. The former gave 2 arguments, by supporters and opponents, and let voters choose (see pages four and five of poll). The argument in support, noting that California ranks nearly terminal in per-student spending, said that requiring fewer votes "would give local districts more than control to better their own schools." Overall, 41 percentage said they agreed with the statement and supported lowering the threshold. The supporters included a bare majority – 52 pct – of Democrats but only 37 percent of parents.

The USC Dornsife/LA Times statement confronting characterized the proposal as "merely throwing money at the problem" and pointed out that voters had just passed Proposition xxx in Nov, raising the statewide sales and income taxes, "and at present some people want to raise fifty-fifty more taxes with no guarantee the additional money will go to the classroom." Forty-8 percent of respondents agreed with that statement and did not back up lowering the vote threshold.

The PPIC question was more straightforward, asking whether respondents agreed with lowering the requirement to 55 percent "for voters to pass local parcel taxes for the local public schools?" L-seven percentage of adults overall, including two-thirds of parents, favored the idea, but only 51 percent of likely voters supported information technology.

The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll had a margin of error of plus or minus two.nine per centum points. The PPIC poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 pct points.

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