A Tax for Schools - washingtonpost.com

After a punt by the Prince George's County Council, more education funding will depend on voters.

PRINCE GEORGE'S County public schools spend less money per student than any district in suburban Maryland or Virginia. The average teacher salary in Prince George's also lags behind. The cramped spending is a result of the county's wrongheaded tax limit. That a promising solution is now jeopardized underscores the failure of county leaders to unite behind an effort to address the issue.

County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) had proposed increasing the tax on telephones to produce an estimated $17 million each year for the schools. Mr. Johnson argued that because the state imposes the tax, it doesn't have to get voter approval as required by the Tax Reform Initiative by Marylanders (TRIM). Mr. Johnson was backed by an unequivocal opinion from the state attorney general. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the County Council, which decided to submit the question to voters in November 2008. It's hard to argue with democracy, but the council's action strikes us as little more than a dodge on the always-controversial issue of raising taxes....