A newly released survey focusing on all initiatives on the Nov. 6 California ballot finds voters overwhelmingly supporting Proposition 30, the CTA-backed measure sponsored by Gov. Jerry Brown that would raise income taxes on the wealthy and temporarily boost the sales tax to stave off more than $6 billion in trigger cuts to public education. The survey finds the Brown initiative with a 56.2-39.2% positive margin.

The survey found little support for Proposition 38, the competing tax initiative sponsored by Wealthy Civil Rights Attorney Molly Munger, which is trailing 35.0-54.2%.

The results were released Thursday morning by representatives of the California Business Roundtable and researchers from Pepperdine University during a news teleconference highlighting their first edition of their on-line polling for all initiatives. The organizations said they would be providing updated surveys twice a month.

The early polling shows 60-28.9% support for CTA-opposed Proposition 32, the measure that would further tilt the political landscape in favor of wealthy special interests that already outspend labor unions by a 15 to one ratio.

Researchers cautioned that the polling is early, prior to the full implementation of efforts by a coalition of labor, educator, and public interest groups to educate the public about the real intent, sponsors, and impact of the CTA-opposed initiative.

“At this point the campaign hasn’t really launched. People are reading initiative [title] without any other information.  I do expect that number to change. Things tend to get tighter as the election come closer. ….this is people’s initial response to it without any other context,” said Dr. Michael Shires, of Pepperdine.

Opponents of Proposition 32 noted that “It’s not surprising that the first poll shows a large margin. This is where these initiatives have always started, but once voters learn the
deceptive nature of these proposals, they reject them. They will do the same with Prop 32.”

“Proposition 32 is not what it seems. It does not
level the political playing field, but actually creates special exemptions for big
corporate special interests to write their own set of rules. Under Proposition 32, these corporate special interests would be able to continue spending as much money has they want on elections, but the measure’s provisions will restrict teachers and
other workers.”

“When voters come to see Proposition 32 for the deceptive measure it is, they will reject it, just as they have the earlier similar measures put before them in past elections.”

Of those 800 persons included in the survey, 133 reported they have a family member in a public sector union. Another 63 said a family member was in a private sector union, and 18 reported family members in both public and private sector unions.  The vast majority of the respondents, 598 of those polled, said no one in their family belonged to a union.

Pepperdine researchers insisted that the survey uses new technology – not phone calling – that is cross-referenced to ensure a group of roughly 800-900 representative survey takers for each poll.

The vast majority of California voters – more than 72% of them – oppose the automatic or “trigger cuts” in the state budget that will take effect if the governor’s November revenue
initiative is rejected, according to a Field Poll released on July 4.

Only 19% of those polled say they favor the trigger cuts, which will slash another $6 billion for
K-14 public education and the state’s two university systems.

Voters can protect schools and public safety programs from these cuts by approving the governor’s Protect Our Schools and Local Public Safety Initiative on the November general election ballot.

The measure would raise an estimated $9 billion by raising income taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents and temporarily boosting the sales tax by a quarter of one percent.

More information about the Field Poll can be found at July 4 Field Poll Release.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is the latest in a growing list of public officials who are standing with the California Teachers Association and millions of working women and men to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s November ballot measure that would stave off additional devastating cuts to public schools and local police and other protection services.

The governor’s “Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012″ would raise $9 billion annually – more than $6 billion of it for K-12 schools, the community colleges, and the state’s university systems — by boosting income taxes on California’s wealthiest families, those earning more than $500,000 annually.  The initiative would also temporarily boost the state’s sales tax by a quarter of one percent.

“I’m voting for the governor’s tax proposal,” Lockyer told members of the Sacramento Press Club Thursday, according to the Sacramento Bee’s David Sider.  “The cuts to education if it doesn’t pass are so severe that it will injure our ability to produce an informed citizenry and workforce that we need for the future of California, so I’m a ‘yes’ vote.”

To read more about the state treasurer’s comments, see Sider’s State Treasurer Bill Lockyer says he’s a “yes” on Jerry Brown’s tax measure.

For more information about the ”Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012,” see  Protect  Schools and Public Safety.

The newly released Public Policy Insttute of California survey gives the governor and the legislature clear direction on where not to make cuts should the tax initiative headed for the November ballot should fail: don’t cut public schools they say.

Specifically, 78% of those survey by the nonpartisan polling organization declared their opposition to making automatic cuts in school funding if voters reject the initiative.

Click on the chart below for a larger view, and click on this link to get to the full survey.

PPIC April 2012 Survey

An overwhelming majority of parents believe that fiscal cuts have harmed their local schools, and an even larger majority are concerned about the effects of teacher layoffs.

The new poll, released on Apr. 25 by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) determined that 81% of parents say schools have been harmed by the cuts, and 87% of parents report they are worried about the effects teacher layoffs are having on their public schools.

Click on the charts below to see larger versions. This link will take you to the full PPIC report:

PPIC April 2012 Survey

Mt. Diablo Education Association President Mike Langley shares information with Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, the area's senator, during a meeting between the team of educators from the Alcosta Service Center Council and their lawmaker. (Photo by Len Feldman)

More than a dozen educators from California Teachers Association’s Alcosta Service Center Council have traveled to the Capitol today to meet with their Assembly Members and State Senators on vital issues, including school funding, educators’ pensions, and hard-to-staff classes.

The educators are sharing compelling stories about how more than $20 billion in budget cuts have impacted their classrooms and hammered their students.

A key measure members are addressing is CTA co-sponsored SB 1291 (Evans).  That CTA-backed measure is slated for a hearing on Wednesday in a legislative panel. It would provide financial support to laid-off teachers to help them retrain to teach in hard-to-staff specialties, including, math, science, and special education.

Representatives from the Service Center Council are slated to meet with five lawmakers personally and with three legislative staff members during their day in Sacramento.