Gov. Bev Perdue kicked off her tax rally in Greensboro yesterday, telling an audience at Smith High School that education budget cuts are “totally unacceptable.”

JLF President John Hood says Perdue doesn’t really mean it:

I’m not even sure that the governor believes it would be sensible to sock one of the nation’s worst economies with $1.5 billion in higher taxes. Perhaps I’m being overly generous here, but I suspect Perdue knows that such a move would be fraught with both economic and political peril.

So why did she take to the road to “sell” a huge tax hike that the voters of North Carolina, in their wisdom, are not going to be willing to buy? Because Perdue’s intended audience was not the general public. It was the North Carolina Association of Educators.

Methinks Commander Hood is being a bit generous there. But it was at least good to see there was skepticism among some audience members, especially Guilford County school board chairman Alan Duncan, who —according to the N&R — “wondered where the details were in Perdue’s rallying cries.”

Speaking of the school board, it just so happens I watched a replay of the board’s discussion of what to do with the abandoned Craven Elementary School and —- needless to say —- I was not impressed. As with most things that board addresses, there was lots of talk with absolutely nothing being accomplished. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually agreed with board member Deena Hayes (who was participating by telephone — an annoying habit among local public officials these days) when she made the point that the school system was basically serving as a slumlord by letting the school deteriorate in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

Bonus observation: When making a point about GCS’ achievement gap, board member Sandra Alexander evoked Martin Luther King. Nice touch, except Alexander kept glancing at her notes while quoting. If you’re going to quote Dr. King, at least have it committed to memory.