Passing the Buck Back to MoCo?

Is the legislature on the verge of demanding that Maryland's counties pony up more dough for the schools? The Gazette reports that at least one key legislator thinks so:

Local school aid in some Maryland counties is lagging behind their increases in wealth, prompting some legislators to call on local governments to ratchet up their own spending in education.

‘‘The issue of ‘Have they kept up?’ is a very valid issue to raise,” said Del. John L. Bohanan, who chairs the House Education and Economic Development Subcommittee.

Over the past five years, wealth per pupil has grown faster than local school aid per pupil in all but four counties: Harford, Howard, Prince George’s and Charles counties. Local wealth is calculated by adding the net taxable income of county residents and the assessable property tax base in the county. Divide that by the number of K-12 students for the local wealth per student.

This argument strikes me as a red herring. Read why on Maryland Politics Watch.