Topeka ? The speaker of the Kansas House says legislators need to consider furloughing workers as part of a budget-balancing plan.

Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said Friday that he’s in favor of considering something “reasonable,” such as one day a month of unpaid time off.

Legislators must close a projected $328 million deficit in the budget for the state’s 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Lawmakers return Wednesday from their annual spring break to tackle the job.

Democrats generally have opposed furloughs, saying they amount to a pay cut.

But O’Neal said he wants to consider them before other proposals to boost state revenues.