Florida voters' overwhelming approval last week of a constitutional amendment slashing their property taxes--and potentially costing schools millions of dollars in funding--illustrates the vexing trade-offs policymakers nationwide face in trying to reduce one of the most unpopular of all taxes. While lower tax bills may make homeowners happy, they…

Texas has had its Robin Hood school financing system in place since 1993, when the legislature adopted the system in response to a state supreme court order to equalize state spending on public schools. Under the arrangement, any district that has taxable property values exceeding $305,000 per student is not allowed to keep all of its property-tax…