Majority of Pa. Districts Snub Rendell Tax-Relief Plan

Only 20 percent of Pennsylvania’s school districts have chosen to take part in a plan that uses state gambling money to reduce property taxes. The low level of participation dealt a setback to Gov. Edward G. Rendell’s efforts to fulfill campaign promises.

Act 72, which became law last July, allows districts to use slot-machine proceeds to reduce local property taxes if they raise their earned income taxes by one-tenth of 1 percent and accept certain limits on local tax increases. By the May 30 deadline, only 111 of the state’s 501 districts had accepted the trade-off.

That makes it harder for Gov. Rendell to deliver on two of his major goals: cutting property taxes statewide, and shifting a greater share of education spending to the state. The Democratic governor had urged school boards...