Lawyers for the Montgomery County Council slapped down threats of a lawsuit from schools Superintendent Jerry Weast on Thursday, saying his argument “falls like a house of cards.”

Weast’s argument, detailed in a draft lawsuit, rests on the belief that the council cannot strip funding beyond the budget recommendations of County Executive Ike Leggett. Lawyers for the school system wrote that Maryland law allows the council to restore funding, but not to take more away.