Topeka ? The Kansas House’s top Republican says budget problems could force the state to rethink its commitments on aid to public schools, a position that could lead to conflict with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said Thursday that the GOP-controlled Legislature intends to protect a small increase in spending on schools that it already has promised for the 2009-10 school year. That small boost would follow a 39 percent increase in aid phased in over the past four years.

But Neufeld, from Ingalls, said state revenues could fall short of expectations, as they did during the last fiscal year, which ended June 30. He and other legislators already anticipate that budgeting next year will be difficult.

“It would not be our intention to reduce it, but we have to look for efficiencies everywhere in government,” Neufeld said. “If you get revenues that are significantly below what we’re projecting now, there may not be a lot of options.”

In June, Sebelius asked agencies to trim up to 2 percent from the spending legislators had approved for them for the 2009 fiscal year, which began July 1. Her budget staff also asked them to draft proposals for reducing their spending another 5 percent during fiscal 2010.

Legislators will consider a proposed fiscal 2010 budget during their next annual session, which convenes in January.

Sebelius noted last month that her budget staff asks each year for three sets of recommendations, based on different scenarios. She also emphasized that she opposes any cuts in spending on public schools or higher education that would directly affect students.

On Thursday, spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said, “We’re confident there are other options out there.”

The state expects to spend about $3.2 billion on aid to public schools during the current fiscal year, or about $892 million more than it did during fiscal 2005. The Kansas Supreme Court forced the increases by declaring that the state hadn’t been providing a suitable education for every child, as required by the Kansas Constitution.

State law will require the state to increase its aid by at least the rate of inflation for fiscal 2010, and legislators this year set aside $37 million to help cover the additional cost. But one Department of Education estimate says the state will need to increase its aid at least $106 million.

Education officials see the increases as necessary to keeping the state’s students from slipping academically.