State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna, in his first presentation - the budget for the State Department of Education - said his department has been finding savings. "In the last three budgets, the State Department of Education has given up more than 20 percent of our general fund budget. ... We recognize at the department that every dollar we save at the administrative level is one more dollar that can be put into the classrooms for the benefit of our students."

The department's budget request for 2012 shows an increase - 13 percent in general funds and 3.3 percent in total funds, under the governor's recommendation - but Luna said he's requesting a 2 percent reduction in general funds for the department, as far as operating and personnel funds. "We will absorb these ... by continuing to find efficiencies and innovations within the agency," he said. The budget actually grows because a federal grant for a longitudinal data system now is being replaced by state general funds.