Gov. Haley Barbour's revised 2011 executive budget recommendations lop 12 percent to 17 percent from most agencies and divisions compared to fiscal year 2010 spending, a cut sure to cause additional pain in providing services and retaining full employment.

The revision responds to lowered revenue estimates made in March for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The $5.5 billion modified budget could be trimmed more if revenue estimates are revised downward during 2011 or if collections fall enough to trigger requirements for automatic executive cuts up to 5 percent.

Barbour notes that education spending will be $4.574 billion, less than 1.3 percent below peak spending, but numbers sometimes create illusions.

Legislators, returning next week from a recess, will resume settling 2011 budget issues. They should consider at least one number other than Barbour's proposal - the amount required for full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the financial bedrock on which every school district is deemed capable of providing an adequate education.

The Parents Campaign, a statewide volunteer advocacy group for public schools, calculates the new Barbour budget as a $160 million-plus loss for MAEP. Barbour's proposal would obliterate the funding level for 2011 adopted by the Legislature before its recess.

Were MAEP fully funded according to its formula it would provide $319 million more for adequacy in the state's schools.

Parents' Campaign executive director Nancy Loome said comparing the Barbour proposal to the formula-driven amount is the only realistic way to compared proposed funding with intended funding.

Mississippi's financial situation obviously requires scaling back, but the degree and proportion don't necessarily have to reflect exactly what the governor proposes. He in fact already has negotiated some of his positions.

An opportunity for flexibility, as The Parents' Campaign proposes, lies in what's called the Bryan Amendment (it was sponsored by Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory) and was adopted in the Senate. It brought the Senate funding for MAEP in line with the House position. It goes further, stipulating that if the federal government extends the reduced state match for Medicaid, as expected, and the state saves at least $150 million, $50 million of the savings will be added to the appropriation for MAEP.

We agree that the House and Senate should adopt a level of funding for K-12 education that is at least equivalent to the funding sought in the Bryan Amendment. Because the governor has gone back to the table earlier in the session, we hope Barbour and a strong majority of legislators will negotiate again.