By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson's latest budget cuts seem sensible, if painful.

Anemic tax collections forced the governor to make reductions beyond those that the Legislature authorized during its session.

Parkinson took an additional $39 million from public schools, beyond the hit of $124 million they've already sustained. Colleges and universities lost an additional $15 million.

Social services, correctional facilities and public safety -- which already are operating near the margins -- sustained less damage in this round of cuts.

It's abundantly clear that Topeka is going to be a gloomy state capital for a long time to come. Even if revenues rebound somewhat, it will take years for Kansas institutions to catch up to where they were before the state's economy went south. University funding is back to 2006 levels, for instance.

Kansas House Republicans, taking their usual scorched earth approach, issued a scathing news release blaming the dismal situation on:

1) Departed governor Kathleen Sebelius, for letting government grow "uncontrollably" and;

2) Democrats in the Legislature, who "felt it was politically expedient to avoid making critical votes to tame the state budget."

This finger-pointing from the House GOP is absurd because, of course, Republicans hold an overwhelming majority in both chambers of the Kansas Legislature. Democrats on their own can't accomplish anything, good or bad.

House Republicans are right that the Legislature is going to need to make structural adjustments in the state's budget. The problem is, as everyone knows, there aren't any good options.

Advocates for K-12 education are already making noises about going back to court over funding reductions. More cuts to universities will gut perhaps the state's best asset. Prisons and social services are already on thin ice.

While accusing Sebelius of madly increasing spending during her six years as governor (mostly for K-12 education, per court order), Republicans conveniently forget to note that the Legislature, at the behest of the GOP, authorized tax cuts for businesses that equaled the increased spending for schools.

Any structural budget fix is probably going to have to reclaim some of that money. But, don't we know, it's a lot easier to give a tax break than to revoke it.

All of which is to say, it's looking like a horrendous legislative session coming up next year in Topeka.

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