"Is it more important to fund the schools than anything else?"

The Washington Post:  Montgomery schools go too far with legal ploy for more funds despite hard times

...in his final year in the job, Weast and his allies on the county school board might have gone too far. Frustrated that the county wasn’t going to increase school funding for the coming year, the board filed a legal petition with the state that effectively pressures Montgomery to give the schools an additional $82 million that the county says it can’t afford.
The move has infuriated members of the County Council, who accuse Weast of refusing to share in necessary sacrifices other county programs are enduring in hard times.
“It’s a profound finger in the eye from the departing superintendent. He wants to go out with a great big gesture of defiance,” council member George Leventhal said. “The fundamental argument [from Weast] is: Forget the police, forget the fire department, forget the libraries, forget environmental protection — none of that matters.”...