Ohio (OH) Poll * February 1, 2007 * Spend More For Schools, But Do - Quinnipiac University

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February 1, 2007 - Spend More For Schools, But Don't Raise Taxes, Ohio Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Voters Back Gov. Strickland's Delay Of Executions

Ohio voters approve 45 - 12 percent of the job Gov. Ted Strickland is doing in his first days in office, but 43 percent remain undecided, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
By a 70 - 2 percent margin, voters support spending more money on schools in poorer communities, but have mixed feelings about some aspects of a proposed constitutional amendment to do just that, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.
Voters support 65 - 27 percent a constitutional amendment aimed at increasing spending for poorer schools. But the fact that the proposed amendment does not specify where the money comes from makes 53 percent of voters less likely to support, with 10 percent more likely and 31 percent who say this does not affect their support. And voters split 47 - 47 percent on whether they support a state tax hike to raise money for poor school districts. Democrats support a tax hike 53 - 39 percent while Republicans oppose it 55 - 40 percent and independent voters oppose it 50 - 45 percent. "Most Ohio voters want to spend more state money on poorer schools, but when you ask people if they want to pay more to do it, there is much less enthusiasm," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Moreover, if the state's worsening overall budget situation requires sacrifice, Ohio voters would, by a 51 - 34 percent margin, rather see state services cut than taxes raised, although Democrats are evenly split on that question.
Approval of Gov. Strickland, a Democrat, is 34 - 13 percent among Republicans, and 45 - 11 percent among white evangelical Christians, normally a very Republican constituency.
Death Penalty
By a 60 - 31 percent margin, Ohio voters support Strickland's decision to delay three executions while he reviews the cases. White evangelical Christians support the delay 56 - 36 percent and Republicans back it by a narrow 49 - 45 percent margin.
But voters support 48 - 38 percent the death penalty rather than life without parole for convicted murderers.
"Strickland is getting good grades from voters so far, although he has not yet tackled the tough questions facing Ohio. Many voters have not yet formed an opinion of him, but among those who have, he benefits by comparison with former Gov. Robert Taft and is doing very well," Brown said.
On the proposed constitutional amendment, voters support 64 - 27 percent a provision that would create a special commission made up at least in part by those who have worked in the schools that would take from the Legislature and governor the power to decide how much money should be spent on the schools.
"At first blush voters like the idea of a constitutional amendment that would increase funding for poorer schools, and it won't make the politicians very happy that they like the idea of taking funding decisions away from the governor and legislature," said Brown. "But there are some aspects of the proposal that voters find very troubling and its supporters will need to address those questions."
From January 23 - 28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,305 Ohio voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data -- www.quinnipiac.edu and click on Institutes and Centers, or call (203) 582-5201.
31. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ted Strickland is handling his job as Governor?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 45% 34% 60% 40% 43% 47% 45% Disapprove 12 13 10 13 13 10 11 DK/NA 43 53 30 47 44 42 44 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Approve 43% 47% 32% 66% 40% 47% Disapprove 10 9 20 14 16 11 DK/NA 46 44 48 20 44 42
32. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 35% 36% 39% 31% 33% 37% 40% Disapprove 36 32 38 40 42 32 31 DK/NA 29 32 23 28 25 32 30 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Approve 36% 33% 31% 48% 31% 39% Disapprove 38 38 39 27 32 36 DK/NA 26 29 30 25 36 25
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job?
Feb 1 Dec 12 2007 2006 Approve 35 25 Disapprove 36 55 DK/NA 29 20
33. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sherrod Brown is handling his job as United States Senator?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 42% 28% 56% 38% 39% 44% 42% Disapprove 18 23 13 21 22 16 18 DK/NA 40 49 31 40 40 40 40 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Approve 41% 47% 36% 47% 36% 36% Disapprove 14 20 13 23 22 18 DK/NA 45 33 51 30 43 46
34. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George Voinovich is handling his job as United States Senator?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 47% 60% 40% 46% 46% 48% 52% Disapprove 31 20 40 32 36 27 25 DK/NA 22 21 20 22 18 25 23 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Approve 50% 52% 36% 46% 38% 47% Disapprove 30 29 40 28 33 31 DK/NA 19 19 25 26 29 22
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way George Voinovich is handling his job as United States Senator?
Feb 1 Dec 13 2007 2006 Approve 47 41 Disapprove 31 33 DK/NA 22 26
42. How would you rate the quality of Ohio's public schools - Excellent, good, not so good, or poor?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Excellent 5% 6% 5% 4% 4% 5% 6% Good 43 47 40 42 42 43 50 Not so good 29 26 30 30 32 27 25 Poor 19 15 20 20 19 18 15 DK/NA 5 6 6 4 4 6 3 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Excellent 2% 5% 4% 2% 7% 5% Good 43 40 42 62 40 45 Not so good 34 27 29 15 29 34 Poor 17 22 18 19 17 11 DK/NA 3 6 7 2 7 5
TREND: How would you rate the quality of Ohio's public schools - Excellent, good, not so good, or poor?
Feb 1 Dec 12 2007 2006 Excellent 5 4 Good 43 41 Not so good 29 30 Poor 19 20 DK/NA 5 5
43. How would you rate the quality of the public schools in your community - Excellent, good, not so good, or poor?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Excellent 24% 30% 21% 23% 24% 24% 24% Good 44 42 42 45 44 44 51 Not so good 18 13 21 18 18 17 15 Poor 12 10 13 11 12 11 9 DK/NA 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Excellent 20% 24% 19% 16% 31% 29% Good 48 41 51 54 34 46 Not so good 19 19 10 14 20 16 Poor 11 13 15 14 12 7 DK/NA 3 3 5 2 4 2
44. In general do you think state spending on the public schools in Ohio should be increased, decreased, or kept about the same?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Increased 61% 47% 72% 63% 57% 65% 59% Decreased 5 7 3 4 5 4 5 Same 29 40 20 29 33 26 32 DK/NA 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Increased 63% 63% 57% 63% 61% 54% Decreased 5 4 3 3 4 7 Same 26 28 35 30 30 35 DK/NA 7 5 4 4 5 4
45. Do you think state spending on the public schools in Ohio's poorer school districts should be increased, decreased, or kept about the same?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Increased 70% 58% 77% 73% 67% 74% 68% Decreased 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 Kept the same 22 31 16 22 26 19 25 DK/NA 5 8 5 3 5 6 6 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Increased 76% 71% 67% 75% 67% 66% Decreased 3 2 4 - 1 5 Kept the same 16 22 23 19 26 26 DK/NA 5 5 6 6 5 4
46. Would you support or oppose a constitutional amendment to make sure that more money is spent on the public schools in Ohio's poorer school districts?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 65% 51% 76% 64% 61% 68% 66% Oppose 27 42 17 26 32 23 26 DK/NA 8 8 7 10 7 9 8 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Support 68% 66% 55% 75% 62% 62% Oppose 25 28 35 17 28 28 DK/NA 8 6 10 8 10 10
47. The proposed constitutional amendment to increase spending on poorer schools in Ohio does not specify how the state should pay for any additional funds needed. Does that make you more likely to support such a plan, less likely, or doesn't it affect your view of the proposal?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl More likely 10% 9% 15% 5% 10% 9% 9% Less likely 53 58 46 58 52 54 53 No effect 31 30 33 32 33 30 32 DK/NA 5 4 6 5 4 6 6 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt More likely 9% 10% 9% 16% 10% 9% Less likely 57 57 45 46 51 49 No effect 31 28 41 36 32 34 DK/NA 4 6 5 2 6 8
48. Would you support or oppose an increase in state taxes to make sure that more money is spent on the public schools in Ohio's poorer school districts?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 47% 40% 53% 45% 46% 48% 46% Oppose 47 55 39 50 50 45 47 DK/NA 6 6 7 5 4 7 7 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Support 49% 45% 41% 66% 47% 44% Oppose 45 48 56 34 45 48 DK/NA 6 6 2 1 8 7
49. Under the proposed constitutional amendment, public schools, higher education and local government programs would always be funded first, meaning that in cases of shortages, funding to other state programs, such as health care, law enforcement, or social services would be cut back. Does that make you more likely to support such a plan, less likely, or doesn't it affect your view of the proposal?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl More likely 10% 10% 12% 8% 10% 11% 10% Less likely 55 57 55 54 53 57 57 No effect 29 27 28 33 33 25 27 DK/NA 5 5 5 5 4 6 7 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt More likely 13% 9% 8% 13% 13% 9% Less likely 60 55 51 44 56 56 No effect 24 29 38 38 27 30 DK/NA 4 7 3 4 4 5
50. Currently the governor and state legislature decide school funding levels for Ohio public schools. Do you think a special commission that includes members who have worked in the schools should be appointed to make funding decisions for Ohio's public schools or should the governor and legislature continue to do that?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Special commission 64% 58% 68% 66% 57% 69% 62% Governor/legislature 27 34 23 27 34 22 29 DK/NA 9 8 10 7 8 9 9 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Special commission 65% 66% 60% 52% 63% 63% Governor/legislature 27 26 29 37 27 28 DK/NA 8 8 11 11 10 8
51. Governor Strickland has postponed three upcoming executions of death row inmates saying that he wants to review each case before going forward with execution. Do you support or oppose Strickland's decision to postpone these executions?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 60% 49% 65% 63% 59% 61% 56% Oppose 31 45 25 27 34 29 36 DK/NA 9 7 10 10 7 10 8 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Support 65% 61% 64% 65% 53% 53% Oppose 27 32 32 17 31 40 DK/NA 8 7 4 18 15 8
52. Which punishment do you prefer for people convicted of murder: the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Death penalty 48% 63% 40% 46% 54% 44% 55% Life/No parole 38 24 47 41 33 43 33 DK/NA 13 13 13 14 13 13 12 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Death penalty 48% 52% 46% 40% 42% 50% Life/No parole 41 37 38 45 43 34 DK/NA 12 12 15 15 15 17
53. How serious do you think Ohio's budget problems are - Very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious or not at all serious?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Very serious 43% 32% 48% 49% 40% 46% 39% Smwht serious 43 51 39 41 45 41 47 Not too serious 7 9 6 6 10 5 6 Not at all serious 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 DK/NA 6 8 6 4 4 8 7 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Very serious 43% 47% 38% 46% 42% 36% Smwht serious 43 43 50 33 41 46 Not too serious 8 5 9 7 9 10 Not at all serious 1 - - - 2 1 DK/NA 5 5 4 14 7 8
54. As you may know Governor Strickland says the state is in worse financial condition than he expected when he took office. If it turns out there is a shortage of state funds, would you prefer -- raising taxes to keep state services at their current level or cutting state services to keep taxes at their current level?
WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Raising taxes 34% 28% 41% 30% 31% 36% 30% Cutting services 51 58 42 54 56 46 53 DK/NA 16 14 17 15 13 18 18 Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt Raising taxes 33% 35% 27% 36% 30% 38% Cutting services 53 49 60 45 52 48 DK/NA 14 16 12 19 18 15