Dan Onorato, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, said today he believes Pittsburgh's proposed 1 percent tax on college tuition is the wrong approach to addressing the city's fiscal woes.

During a news conference called to lay out his proposals for statewide higher education policy, the candidate, who is Allegheny County executive, was asked to weigh in on the controversial levy that college groups say would be a first-of-its-kind in the nation.

Saying that he recently vetoed a tax on non-profits in the county, Mr. Onorato said he was "not going to get in the middle of a city-college fight" but noted that a better approach than either a levy on non-profits or students would be seeking payments or services in lieu of taxes. "Be creative," he said.

"I think there are better ways to approach non-profits right now as opposed to the legal confrontation way," he said during remarks on the North Side at the Community College of Allegheny County.

"I don't support that approach," Mr. Onorato said. "I don't think it's going to go through."

City officials and representatives of the colleges have held meetings since Mayor Luke Ravenstahl proposed the tax last month. Backers say colleges that are largely exempt from property taxes must do more to offset the costs to the city of providing the campuses with police, firefighting and other municipal services.

Mr. Onorato's higher education proposal, laid out in an 11-page report, includes a range of initiatives to make college more affordable, boost graduation rates and leverage the state's college and universities to spur economic development.

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