As JFAC takes up the biggest single slice of the state budget today - public schools - it's convened jointly with the House and Senate education committees in the Capitol Auditorium. "There's 47 of us - we almost have half the Legislature here," commented JFAC Co-Chair Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, as the meeting began. Today's budget hearing will include presentations from state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna; first off, legislative budget analyst Paul Headlee is giving an overview. No decisions will be made today, but it's a chance for lawmakers to hear the details of the budget proposal and ask questions - in preparation for budget-setting, which follows in February.

In going through the fiscal year 2010 budget request for public schools and the governor's recommendation, Headlee noted that the governor's proposal for next year calls for a 9.44 percent decrease in state discretionary funding per support unit from this year's level. This year marked a 14.4 percent cut in state discretionary funding per support unit from the previous year.