Topeka ? After hours of struggling, House and Senate negotiators reached agreement late Thursday night on most budget issues, only to see a dispute about funding for the 2003 legislative session prevent them from finishing their work.

Three senators and three House members resolved differences between their chambers on education and social services spending, and they agreed to postpone a decision about transportation spending.

But they couldn’t agree on how much money to put in the budget for the 2003 session. Senators wanted to provide enough money to pay lawmakers and cover expenses for the traditional 90 days in session. The House approved money for an 80-day session, and its negotiators offered 85 days, then 88. Cutting a day’s expenses would save $60,000.

It was the negotiators’ third day in talks on a compromise budget for the 2003 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Legislators must eliminate a projected $700 million budget shortfall.

Before recessing earlier this month, the House approved a budget plan that is $108 million out of balance; the Senate’s version is $306 million out of balance.

The two chambers were relatively close on aid to public schools, with the Senate keeping it at $3,870 per pupil and the House adding $10 per pupil at a cost of $5.8 million. The negotiators adopted the Senate position.

The differences were greater for higher education, where the House approved spending cuts of $39.1 million, or about 5.5 percent of the current $706 million. The Senate position was to keep spending at current levels.

House negotiators were willing to give the Senate its position on higher education spending to prevail on some social services items. Senators had some misgivings but eventually relented preventing both cuts in higher education spending and some social programs.

The House restored $12.4 million that Gov. Bill Graves proposed to cut from the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services in mental health services, programs for the disabled, assistance to troubled families and day care subsidies. The negotiators’ plan will restore some money, but not as much as the House wanted.