Bottle Tax

Since last November, Baltimore MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakehas been trying to raise $11 million in new revenue for her Better Schools Initiative by continuing the city's existing bottle tax, increasing that tax by 150 percent, and contributing 10 percent of the projected revenue from the proposed downtown casino. In an editorial this week, the Baltimore Sun intimates that the City Council should accept this proposal, since "no viable alternative has emerged. " I beg to differ. One viable alternative, proposed months ago, would be to use a substantially larger percentage of the projected casino revenue.

Three members of a key City Council committee say they oppose Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposal to more than double the city's bottle tax — enough to kill the bill. That has angered supporters of the bill, who accuse Councilman Carl Stokes, the chairman of the council's Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee, of holding back public education. The tax increase is part of the mayor's plan to fix dilapidated schools. Stokes is one of the three council members on the five-member committee who oppose it. "Councilman Stokes is standing as a roadblock toward improving the quality of our schools for our children," said Bishop Douglas Miles, chairman of the interfaith group Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposed 5-cent bottle tax can add up quickly. For example, five 12-packs of Diet Coke can be bought on sale for $10. Sixty cans times 5 cents equals $3. Add to that the 6 percent sales tax - 60 cents - and the total becomes $13.60. That's why I think city residents will soon find themselves buying sodas and alcohol in the county. Dave Edington

Your editorial about "antiquated" city schools and MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's renovation plan with funding from an "extended and increased bottle tax" ("Bottle tax, or what?" April 22) made a lot of sense to me. But why stop there? How about a new nickel tax on newsprint? City subscribers could easily afford the extra nickel tax on newspapers. City pupils would experience a renaissance of learning in their newly-renovated buildings. And local landfills would be spared from ever-increasing truckloads of empty bottles and day-old newspapers.

Baltimore City has a serious problem with run-down, antiquated school facilities. They represent a major impediment to progress in improving the education of Baltimore children and a drag on the city's efforts to shake off decades of decline. MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to fund a new school construction and renovation program through an extension and increase in the city's bottle tax may not be the perfect solution, but it is a good start. The beverage industry has mounted a campaign of opposition to the proposal that borders on the hysterical.

Teachers, students, retailers and beverage industry lobbyists are preparing for a showdown Wednesday as the battle over raising Baltimore's bottle tax to fund school repairs moves to a skeptical City Council committee. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake wants to increase the tax from 2 cents to 5 cents and use the proceeds to float bonds. The mayor, who saw her school construction initiatives wither in the General Assembly, is pushing the council to quickly pass the tax, although it would not go into effect for more than a year.

Sometimes less is more, more or less. Sometimes, less is all you have and all you have will do just fine. Sometimes, the small things, the short things, the bits and pieces are worth keeping because they might be one day useful; my father felt that way about stove bolts. Walter Hard, a Vermont folk poet of Robert Frost's generation, once told of the frugal Yankee woman - was there any other kind? - who left a bag in her attic labeled, "Pieces of string too short to use. " So, alrighty then, that's my preamble and I'm going with it. Here, forthwith, are pieces of column too short to use ... • Suggestion for the Baltimore merchants who oppose Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposal to increase the city's bottle tax to five cents to pay for school renovations: Turn what you see as a problem into an opportunity.

There is no question Baltimore City schools need financial help to renovate aging buildings, but one aspect of the plan to finance this massive renovation project misses the mark and will have a devastating impact on hard-working businesses and families in the city. The proposed plan, known as the "bottle tax," would increase the current 2-cent tax on beverage containers to 5 cents for city residents when they purchase soft drinks, iced teas, water and juices from their local grocery stores.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake launched her campaign to repair Baltimore's long-neglected schools Monday, introducing a bill to more than double the city's bottle tax as part of a plan to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to fix dilapidated buildings. "This is something that we can use to help change the landscape when it comes to the physical needs for our schools," the mayor said of the tax. "Our kids deserve better, and sometimes it takes tough decisions to make sure that we provide a way forward for a better school system.

Patterson High School became the latest political battleground in the effort to rebuild Baltimore's decrepit school infrastructure this week, with students throwing their support behind a proposed bottle tax that could help raise about $300 million for facility upgrades. The Baltimore Education Coalition led City Council Vice President Edward Reisinger and education advocates from around the city on a tour of Patterson on Thursday, where broken boilers and sweltering, cramped and ill-equipped classrooms offered a glimpse into the district's $2.8 billion list of repairs.