By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has unveiled his plan for eliminating a 108-million dollar deficit in the current state budget. Beshear is ordering most state agencies to cut spending by three percent, but sparing basic school funding, Medicaid, public safety and higher education.
"The goal, as is the goal for every business and family in Kentucky undergoing the same sort of cutbacks in these troubled economic times, is to keep priorities intact - to survive as best we can while we work to recover from this recession."
Beshear also predicts there could be 30-to-40-million dollars left over in basic school funding, or SEEK, and in February he intends to return the money to local school districts. Beshear says the money should more than cover three-percent reductions in non-SEEK funding now being ordered, as well as earlier cuts.