Higher education — and voters — vs. Ohio politicians - DavidKushma, Toledo Blad

The survey of 800 likely voters, a scientifically accurate sample of the state’s overall electorate, found that more than two-thirds consider funding for public higher education a priority in the state budget. Nearly three-fifths say state aid to public colleges and universities should increase. Support for such spending is greater in northwest Ohio — the home of the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University — than in any other part of the state. But the poll shows that the sentiment crosses regional, party, and gender lines, and includes voters in households where no one attends college or plans to do so. Unlike the pols, voters are willing to place the future of the state ahead of immediate self-interest. Despite such expressions of popular support, Ohio remains among the bottom 10 states in aid per student to higher education — about $1,500 less than the national average. State funding of public universities and colleges has dropped by 18 percent over the past five years, and funding for student financial aid has been cut in half, even though Ohio’s economy ostensibly is recovering from the Great Recession. http://www.toledoblade.com/DavidKushma/2014/08/10/Higher-education-and-voters-vs-Ohio-politicians.html