Voters Actually Like New Taxes for Schools
Public-school advocates are on a winning streak when it comes to ballot measures to finance education.
It worked.
Photographer: Ralph Freso/Getty ImagesLong before the election of President Joe Biden, who has proposed raising taxes on both wealthy individuals and corporations, voters have signaled that they are ready for new taxes to support public education. That was a message the electorate sent in November by passing ballot measures in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and elsewhere.
The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package signed into law on Thursday includes $126 billion earmarked for K-12 schools, reflecting Biden’s support for public education. But congressional Republicans all voted against it, and some Republican-controlled state legislatures in Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere have been promoting school vouchers that allow families to shift taxpayer dollars from public schools to private-school tuition or even school supplies.