“both potential negative factors for businesses looking for a high-skilled workforce and reliable public services. “
Absolute garbage. A popular urban legend. Businesses don’t look for education cuts when they choose locations. Workers don’t become less skilled because states cut the number of special ed aides and make teachers pay more of the states share of medical insurance and pensions.
It’s just spin.
When you look closely at the numbers and the political/economic issues, you'll find something interesting: The best place for a business to locate is often a jurisdiction where schools are practically non-existent. Sure, a business may need an educated work force ... but "education" is a terrible investment for a local jurisdiction because it is easily transferable and can be taken somewhere else by the person who is educated. So a business would be well served by locating in a low-tax jurisdiction that makes little or no "investment" in education ... and then
hire workers who were educated somewhere else.
When you think about it, the ongoing debate about immigration reform and the needs of U.S. employers is just an extension of that same principle.