Like offering a Band-Aid to a dying man, Gov. Ed Rendell's boast of property tax relief from slot-machine gambling is a gesture of relief when what is needed is massive reform.

Rendell last week lauded the proceeds from Pennsylvania's second-year take from slots as a significant achievement.

"Huge cuts in school property taxes, that's what we promised and we're here to deliver it again," Rendell said during a news conference at the Market House senior center in Pittsburgh.

Rendell said the expected distribution of $770 million will produce average school property-tax cuts of nearly $200 per property owner outside Philadelphia.

And 580,000 low-income seniors are expected to benefit from rent and property tax rebates that are partially funded by the slots money. The rebates of up to $975 are available to seniors whose income is $35,000 or less.

At first blush, the numbers may seem impressive, but the average suburban homeowner in this region has an annual property tax bill in the thousands -- closer to $3,000 as an average and some as high as $7,000 to $12,000, depending on the school district.

In places like Pottstown and Daniel Boone school districts, the property tax rates are higher because the property assessments in the region can not bear the educational costs. Pottstown struggles with diminishing property values, and Daniel Boone faces a growing student population with little commercial base and a large chunk of state-owned parkland, making homeowners the only source of tax revenue.

A tax rebate of $200 does little for the property owner struggling to pay a tax bill of $3,000 and does nothing to ensure equal education for Pennsylvania students regardless of ZIP code.

Granted, the current program of property tax "relief" is weighted toward homeowners in school districts where property taxes are relatively high and incomes and property values are comparatively low -- the scenario in Pottstown. The Band-Aid may be a little bigger, but the need for total reform is no less pressing.

"At the end of the day, not one single Pennsylvanian is any closer to truly owning their home as a result of legalized gambling," said state Rep. Sam Rohrer, R-Berks.

"For many homeowners, the $200 in so-called 'relief' they will receive is less than the amount their property tax bills were raised since 2006," Rohrer said.

Rohrer is the prime sponsor of the comprehensive school finance reform plan known as the School Property Tax Elimination Act in which schools would be funded primarily from an expanded sales and use tax at the current 6 percent rate.

In a press release issued last week, Rohrer said he is planning to reintroduce his school property tax elimination bill at a press conference on May 4.

The School Property Tax Elimination Act has had the support of area legislators, particularly state Rep. Tom Quigley, and strong endorsement from residents of this region.

In other areas of the state where the tax burden is not as great, where the need for schools to deal with growing populations is not as large and where the inequities in education dollars are not as wide, there is little outcry for reform.

So, nothing changes. Rendell started out as an outspoken advocate for an overhaul of Pennsylvania's antiquated property tax system. He ordered the Legislature to come up with a plan and threatened to keep them from recess one holiday season to get results.

But the legislative support for reform has never materialized despite some attempts to breathe life into proposals by Rohrer and others.

Proceeds from gambling to lessen the pain is not an answer. Rendell's Band-Aid is not going to stop the bleeding for Pennsylvania taxpayers.