Gov. Ed Rendell called on lawmakers Monday to override the 390 school districts statewide that said no to slots money, sparking blistering criticism from school officials throughout the region.
"I think it's wrong," Penn Hills School Board member Margie Krogh said. "I'd love to force something on him, but we don't have the right to do that. When somebody becomes a dictator, you lose the right to democracy. That's what's happening here. He's becoming a dictator."
Rendell, a Democrat facing re-election next year, staked much of his political reputation on Act 72, the property tax reduction law passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Rendell officials say the average homeowner would get a $330 annual tax cut under the measure, which would shift some slots revenue to schools.
Rendell insisted yesterday that Act 72 remains viable but argued that lawmakers should remove language that gives school boards a choice on whether to accept gambling money and requires participating districts to pass a 0.1-percent earned income tax hike. The governor still backs requiring school boards to subject large tax increases to voter approval.
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