But Anderson denies that the tax cap is hurting Massachusetts public education.

"This idea that education has been devastated is simply not accurate," she says. "We're spending far above the national average in education per student than in other states."

Gambling for Time

Whether Proposition 2 1/2 will weather this latest storm of criticism remains to be seen.

In the meantime, local legislators are scrambling to find ways to make ends meet without risking the political suicide of demanding that their consti- tuents pass overrides of the tax law.

Officials in some of the most fiscally desperate cities have proposed municipal lotteries, hoping that gambling revenues will fill the gap in funding for public schools and police protection.

The Brockton City Council recently applied to the legislature for permission to establish a local lottery.

And while the CLT does not favor any kind of tax increase, Anderson says that an increased income or sales tax would be preferable to a repeal of Proposition 2 1/2.

"Property tax comes to your door whether you're unemployed or working. It's a particularly regressive tax," she says. "At least with income or sales taxes the voters have a choice."

Anderson maintains that Proposition 2 1/2 is effective in its current form, but that the second provision of the property tax will remain controversial. In addition to putting a ceiling on property taxes at 2.5 percent of the assessed value, the law also mandates that taxes cannot increase by more than 2.5 percent annually, regardless of whether community values skyrocket during the year.

Such a stipulation works well during prosperous economic times, but has not helped during the downturn in today's tighter economy, Anderson says.

"During the 1980s when people were working and there was lots of money, the overrides were passing. It's a question of the economy," she says. "The key to making 2 1/2 and everything else work is getting us out of this recession.