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Friday, March 28, 2003

By The Associated Press

HARRISBURG -- More than two-thirds of Pennsylvania residents support changing the way public schools are funded by replacing local property taxes with other state taxes, according to a state-wide poll released yesterday.

The telephone survey of 602 adults by Madonna Young Opinion Research found that 69 percent would favor reducing local property taxes, the primary revenue source of public schools, by increasing state taxes.

The poll, which was sponsored by a group lobbying for increased state education funding, also found that 72 percent of Pennsylvanians would favor giving most of the revenue raised from any state tax increase to the state's poorest school districts.

When it came to questions of how the state should raise more money for schools, however, the poll revealed widely varying degrees of support for 11 different options that were presented.

So-called "sin" taxes, such as increasing the cigarette tax, allowing slot machines at the state's horse racing tracks and expanding the Pennsylvania Lottery, each were supported by anywhere from 66 percent to 71 percent of residents surveyed.

Residents were less inclined to favor measures that they felt would affect them personally, however, such as raising the personal income tax. While 27 percent said they favored such an increase, 71 percent said they were opposed.

Gov. Ed Rendell included both the legalization of slot machines and a 34 percent income tax increase in an education spending and economic stimulus proposal he presented to the Legislature on Tuesday.

At the same time, however, the poll also found that voters were more likely to support legislators who voted for any kind of state tax increase if it was specifically intended for property tax relief, increasing school funding, or both.

The survey was conducted on behalf of Good Schools Pennsylvania, a nonprofit group that is lobbying for increased state education funding and equal funding for all public schools, from March 12 to March 22. Its sampling error margin is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.