School officials from across the state posed numerous questions and concerns to Gov. Edward Rendell regarding Act 72, the legislation that proposes using revenue from slot machine gambling for property tax relief, during his statewide teleconference on the law last week.

But by the end of the 90-minute broadcast some local school directors felt they had little choice in whether or not to accept slots funding for their districts.

Rendell repeatedly warned school directors that the Legislature would impose budget referendums on districts if a number of them opted out of Act 72 in an effort to avoid the referendums.

The legislation requires school districts to increase earned income tax by 0.1 percent and to submit most budget increases beyond the rate of inflation to voters.

"We don't even have a choice. Why did they bother to give us a choice?" said Jean Dexheimer, a Wilkinsburg director among about 30 school officials who watched the teleconference at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit's headquarters.

Fellow board member Raymond Griffith said that though he has reservations about the legislation, he now feels he has no choice but to approve it.

"We might as well accept the slots money given the fact that we are going to be bludgeoned with this back-end referendum whether we want it or not," Griffith said.

Baldwin-Whitehall School Director Beverly Coon said after listening to Rendell: "It's obvious that nothing is going to change." Coon said some school officials were hoping Rendell would announce an extension to the May 30 deadline given for school districts to opt into the program.

Several callers asked Rendell why an extension couldn't be arranged. He said officials have had 11 months to review the law since it was passed and that was ample time.

He also said he has become aware in recent weeks of school officials who are spreading "myths and lies" about the effects of Act 72 and, consequently, neither he nor the Legislature was sympathetic to an extension.

In calls to the governor, directors statewide questioned how to fund teacher contracts and health insurance premiums with the budget constraints required by Act 72.

Rendell advised them to use the constraints as factors in negotiations. His policy administrator, Donna Cooper, said at the teleconference that the Legislature is trying to create a statewide consortium to buy health insurance at a reduced rate.

Directors also expressed concerns to Rendell about Act 72's requirement that they formulate preliminary budgets by January, before the governor presents his proposed budget, which outlines how much schools can expect to get from the state.

And some told the governor they were worried about imposing a tax hike on renters, who would be shut out of the property tax reductions.

They also questioned why school boards are the only taxing body to be affected by Act 72 and wondered what would happen to slots funding left due to districts that don't opt in.

Rendell said school boards were chosen for the Act 72 legislation because they levy the largest tax bill and that property taxes have increased significantly over the years.

He acknowledged that the drop in state funding to local schools from 50 percent in the 1980s to 34 percent when he took office prompted much of the increase in local taxes.

Rendell said it is not clear what will happen to slots funds slated for districts that opt not to accept them. He said he believes the surplus should be divided among the districts that opt in, but that legislators wanted the money to go into the slots reserve fund. He said the decision likely would be made in court.

Keystone Oaks School Director David Rauth left Rendell's teleconference disgusted and more convinced than ever that his decision to not to run for re-election was a good one.

Rauth said he is leaving the school board because he believes Act 72 will make it extremely difficult for school directors to operate schools.

"I have better things to do with my time and my life," Rauth said.