California Insider

A Weblog by
Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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April 27, 2006

PPIC Poll

PPIC has a new poll out today that focuses on education, and shows that voters are still down on the schools and the governor's handling of the issue. Overall, his approval rating is a respectable 46-44 among likely voters. But only 33 percent approve of the way he has handled the education issue. No doubt still a residue of his "broken promise," even though his current budget proposal would bring the schools' ongoing funding base back to the level it would have been if he had funded them the way the education lobby thought he should have.

Voters say they would be happy to raise taxes for schools -- as long as somebody else pays them. Upper income? Sure. Sales or property taxes, not so much.

The poll also checks in on the Democratic primary and finds Westly ahead of Angelides, 26-20, and by an even greater margin (29-20) among voters most concerned about the public schools. In other words, Democrats say they would love to raise taxes on the rich to increase funding for schools, but they prefer the candidate who says he doesn't want to do that over the one who does. Go figure.