"Mr. Weast, whose brinkmanship has gone too far"

The Washington Post Editorial:  Montgomery leadership fails with battle over school budgets

...The school board and the school superintendent, Jerry D. Weast, are mainly to blame for things reaching this point. They have threatened to sue the county over budget cuts amounting to roughly $33 million, or less than 2 percent of the school system's annual spending... 

...Over the past decade, schools have generally accounted for 53 to 56 percent of annual county spending, with the rest divided among other services, including police, fire and rescue, parks, Montgomery College, and other administrative functions. Under Mr. Leggett's proposed budget, the school system's slice of the county pie would increase to 57.2 percent. If the County Council has its way and knocks $33 million from the school system's budget, its share of overall county spending would be about 56 percent -- still a percentage point higher than its average over the past decade...

..The sensible way out is a compromise. But with egos, conflicting personalities and political futures all colliding in an election year, both sides seem incapable of meeting each other halfway. That speaks poorly of Mr. Weast, whose brinkmanship has gone too far; of Council President Nancy Floreen, whose leadership skills are in doubt; and of Mr. Leggett, who is silent when he should be guiding the two sides out of the deadlock.