Poll: Many in Ga. support tax boost for education

Published 9:34 am Friday, July 16, 2010

Many Georgians favor raising taxes or fees to restore financial support for education, a new poll shows.

Half the respondents to the poll released Friday said they favor paying more to restore education spending cuts, which have led to teacher furloughs and layoffs and other forms of cost-cutting.

In the statewide poll, 50 percent of those asked said they favor raising taxes or fees to restore the cuts, while 39 percent were opposed and 11 percent were undecided.

The poll of 625 likely voters was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. from July 8 through July 13, and paid for by 13 daily newspapers with readership across Georgia. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, meaning there is a 95 percent chance the actual number would fall in that range.

The poll results may show Georgians are finally seeing the results of years of austerity reductions, said Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association.

“There are people who are beginning to see and feel the impact of the cuts, whether it’s the loss of a program that is near and dear to their hearts or a neighbor who has been laid off,” Garrett said. “I think the damage now is real.”

But Bill Callahan, a retiree who lives near Griffin, said that while the education cuts are alarming, he’s not enthusiastic about a property tax increase, the usual way to help fund schools.

“I just dont know how much more property taxes we can afford. I believe a sales tax or a consumer fee would be fairer,” he said.