A POLL conducted among Long Islanders has found substantial support for capping school taxes, which make up more than 60 percent of most tax bills.

Fifty-five percent of Long Islanders back the idea of a cap, including 48 percent of people with children in school, according to the poll, conducted in June on behalf of the Long Island Index, a group financed by the nonprofit Rauch Foundation, and released last week.

The poll was conducted by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research a few weeks after school districts approved tax increases in May that more than canceled out a new state tax rebate. Its margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

“It points to the fact that Long Islanders are really struggling,” said Ann Golob, director of the Long Island Index.

New Jersey passed a property tax cap, but the idea has not gained much traction in New York, where teachers oppose it.

Former Gov. George E. Pataki favored a cap, but the Legislature never approved one, and Gov. Eliot Spitzer has opposed it until recently. After school budget votes more than wiped out the savings from a property tax rebate he worked to pass, Mr. Spitzer altered his anticap position, saying that if school districts cannot figure out how to cut costs, a cap may be something that “warrants debate.”

“It’s interesting that they asked a question about the cap and that a solid majority came out in favor,” said E. J. McMahon, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative research organization, who favors a limit on tax increases that could be overridden by local voters. “It means the concept is in the water. I’d like to see a poll exploring it further.”

The poll also found a substantial gap between what residents wanted to pay in taxes and were willing to cut to achieve a reduction. More than 80 percent said that taxes were too high and should be reduced by an average of $3,000. But more than 60 percent opposed cutting teacher salaries, which are the single largest expense and grow by as much as 5 or 6 percent a year.

“Long Islanders have always had this notion of saying we’d like lots and lots and lots of stuff, and then complaining about our taxes after we get it,” Mr. McMahon said.

But Ms. Golob said she found hope for unraveling that conundrum in other poll findings, like a proposal for making teachers pay more for health benefits, which 69 percent favored.

The poll also found strong support for moving special district elections to the same date in May as school elections; 80 percent favored that proposal. Nassau County’s comptroller, Howard S. Weitzman, has issued reports showing that special districts often hold elections at unusual times in which few vote.

The poll revealed what Ms. Golob called a “surprising disconnect” between high taxes and the cause: Despite the relative size of school taxes, which have risen faster than county or municipal taxes in recent years, only 7 percent of respondents said school boards should take primary responsibility for cutting taxes. Thirty-six percent said the county executives should take the lead; 27 percent said state government should.

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