Governor Kulongoski has a chance to prove Republicans wrong. They say he is stalling on signing a couple of tax hikes so that opponents will have less time to gather the required number of signatures to block the increases and send them to the voters.

The governor thinks that voters might approve the increases if and when there is a referendum. He could be right. The people affected by higher taxes, including business owners, are in a small minority. That's one point against the measures, but the majority of voters just might not see it that way.

Why not let these increases go to the voters? Indeed, why not actually encourage the opponents to take them to the voters so that, if they are ratified by the electorate, they will be less likely to harm Democrats in the next general election?

Kulongoski has until Aug. 7 to sign bills. He ought to confound his critics and opponents and, if he has not already done so, sign the tax bills today. (hh)

CORRECTION: In an editorial July 1, the editor oversimplified the funding for virtual charter schools. Russ Allen of the Greater Albany Public Schools explains: "Charter schools receive a minimum of 80 percent of the amount of the funding for students in grades K-8, or 95 percent of the amount of the funding for students in grades 9-12. The district that sponsors the charter school receives the other 20 percent (K-8) or 5 percent (9-12). If the student lives in another district then the 20 percent (K-8) or 5 percent (9-12) is split in half between the sponsoring district and the home district."