Topeka ? Legislative leaders who’ve met with Gov. Mark Parkinson realize he likely will have to make additional budget cuts because of falling revenues and say education must be considered along with the rest of state government.

In the $13 billion state budget taking effect July 1, legislators trimmed education by 2.6 percent and the overall budget by 3.3 percent.

Public schools, higher education and mandated social services and health programs account for 85 percent of state spending.

“The other 15 percent has been hammered pretty hard, so that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room to maneuver,” Senate President Steve Morris said Friday. “The governor only has so much flexibility to make additional allotments and he’ll probably have to look at all programs, including education.”

Morris, a Republican from Hugoton, said he has had heard complaints from some local school officials that the Legislature should have given the schools more money, even if it meant raising taxes.

“I don’t know what planet they’re living on,” he said. “If the money’s not there, it’s not there.”

He said he has also heard talk about filing another lawsuit to force the state to spend more on schools. But he noted that the last lawsuit on that issue was filed in 1999 and it was 2005 before the Legislature was forced to act.

Morris and other legislative leaders met Thursday with Parkinson, who says he will consult with the leaders before making targeted cuts, known as allotments. Parkinson said this week he will wait on June revenue figures before deciding what to do.

“I still think there is some room in the education budget for at least a portion of the allotments that would be necessary,” said House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican.

When legislators return in January, they will face another grueling session of cutting spending. The budget that will take effect July 1, 2010, already has a projected $669 million deficit, assuming 1 percent revenue growth.

“You don’t have any good options. They’re all bad. You just have to pick the best of the bad,” Morris said.

State revenues are driven by the economy, and income tax collections dip as unemployment rises. State economists project unemployment at 6 percent this year and 6.3 percent next year. The jobless rate in April was 6.1 percent, up from 3.5 percent one year earlier.

Counting the current budget year and the one starting next month, legislators made three rounds of spending cuts, accounting changes and revenue-raising measures. The state delayed income tax refunds and payments to public schools because of revenue shortfall.

Even so, the state still faces deficits of $29 million in the current fiscal year and $174 million in fiscal 2010.

Last week, state revenue collections for May were estimated at $103 million below expectations. An updated, final figure issued Friday put that at $104.4 million.

Parkinson told reporters Monday that income tax collections “tanked dramatically.” He said what’s not known is whether May collections were abnormally low or “the start of a very bad trend.”

House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said he came away from the meeting with Parkinson with the clear impression that more cuts are coming.

“The governor has said all along that he would be willing to make allotments if the need arose and unless the revenue picture turns around, that need is going to arise,” Davis said.

He said because the state accepted the federal stimulus money for education, any cuts to public schools must be proportional with higher education reductions.

“We may have limitation on both K-12 and higher education, but they definitely are going to have to be on the table along with everybody else,” he said.

He said Kansas isn’t as bad off financially as other states, including California where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed selling several state landmarks as he faces a $24.3 billion budget shortfall.

“Hopefully we won’t get where we have to put the ‘for sale’ sign out in front of state parks,” Davis said.