Honolulu, HI-The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) released the results of a public opinion survey conducted by QMark Research on public preferences for funding education and other services. QMark Research conducted a study of 501 residents in the State of Hawaii. A total of 353 surveys were done on Oahu, 68 on the Big Island, 50 on Maui and 30 on Kauai, which is proportional to each island's representation in the state's population. The margin of error for a sample of this size is +/- 4.38 percentage points with a 95% confidence level.

Barbara Ankersmit, president of QMark Research, stated, "The key finding in the research is the overwhelming preference among Hawaii residents for raising revenue rather than making further cuts to programs, services and people. To increase the funding needed to maintain and restore services, the public favors increasing taxes, instead of taking monies from special funds. A large majority of survey respondents felt that education and social services were "very important," and of those services labeled very important, restoring instructional time by ending furloughs was seen as the most important."

HSTA President Wil Okabe said, "The economic recession has struck a body blow to the state's public education system. With educational programs and services cut, layoffs to many staff and furloughs to others-including teachers-the outlook for Hawaii's schools is grim. Then there is the news from the governor that the state is looking at a $1.2 billion hole in next year's budget. Translation: more cuts to education and staff, as well as to the social services networks on which many students and their families depend. We cannot allow this downward spiral to continue."

According to Okabe, the HSTA believes the only way to save Hawaii's educational and social service infrastructure, which could be irreparably damaged, is by increasing revenue. While additional cuts may be needed in some departments, it is essential that critical services be protected. But raising revenue by increasing taxes requires the support of Hawaii's people and those who represent them at the legislature.

The HSTA decided to find out for certain where the people stand on these issues. How important are public services to those who pay for them? If the services are important enough to keep, what's the best way to pay for them? And for which services do voters and taxpayers give the highest priority when it comes to funding?

Survey Commissioned
To answer these questions in a reliable and definitive way, the HSTA commissioned the survey by QMark Research. The results of QMark's survey turned conventional wisdom on its head on several counts, and the results also provide clear direction to decision makers.

Awareness of the Issues
To ensure that those answering the survey knew the issues in question, the survey began with a series of questions to determine each respondent's level of awareness. On the issue of furloughs, nearly everyone (97%) surveyed was aware of the loss of instructional days at Hawaii's public schools that resulted from teacher furloughs. Awareness was also high regarding the impacts of cuts to other services, as well as employees of government and service agencies.

More Cuts Versus Raising Taxes
When Hawaii residents were told the budget shortfall is expected to increase in the coming year, a solid majority (73%) say they want the Legislature to find new sources of revenue as opposed to those who prefer further cuts in jobs and services (17%).

Increasing Income Tax on the Wealthiest Five Percent the Preferred Choice for a Majority
Survey respondents were then asked for their preferences on how to increase revenue. Among the three options presented to them, the clear favorite among respondents (49%) is to increase the income tax rates for those with taxable incomes that exceed $200K per year. There is support among one in four residents (23%) for increasing Hawaii's sales tax, the GET, while 19 percent would like to use the Rainy Day Fund and/or the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund.

Taxpayer Education Makes a Difference
To gauge how Hawaii residents would respond with more background information on the proposed changes to tax brackets for those with taxable incomes greater than $200,000 a year, survey participants were briefed on how the tax burden is now shared by Hawaii taxpayers in different income brackets.

After being told how those with different income levels in our community are being affected by all taxes combined (income taxes, property taxes and GE taxes) and by GE taxes alone, even more residents indicated they would support an increase in tax rates on the wealthiest five percent of taxpayers. For instance, while 49 percent of survey respondents supported the income tax increase on the most affluent when first asked, support for this initiative grew to 64 percent after voters were informed about the current distribution of the tax burden.

Funding Preferences
Toward the end of the research, Hawaii residents were asked what services would they like additional revenue to fund if the Legislature were to increase taxes. Survey participants were presented with seven possible types of services, ranging from reinstating instructional days in Hawaii's public schools to restoring funding for agricultural inspections.

The majority of respondents considered the following services very important (percentage of those calling them very important in parentheses):
Restoring instructional days and ending furloughs in Hawaii public schools (77%)
Restoring services for the elderly (67%)
Restoring funding for programs for disadvantaged children (62%)
Restoring agricultural inspection programs that keep our food safe (60%)
Restoring cuts made to programs for the mentally ill (52%)

The following also had a large number of respondents labeling them very important:
Restoring human services programs for the poor and homeless (48%)
Restoring programs for public health like those that control rats and mice (37%)

When pressed to choose the most important service among all those they named as very important, the leading choice among respondents was the restoration of instructional days and ending teacher furloughs (57%), followed by restoring services for the elderly (13%) and restoring services for disadvantaged children (10%).

Okabe concluded, "These results confirm we were on the right track in our original tax proposal to increase income tax rates for those in the top five percent of income earners. But whether it's a matter of increasing income taxes or the general excise tax, it's clear that the public places a premium on education and other services and they are willing to pay for them."

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