Stumbo: 'We are not going to cut education'

This from H-L, photo by David Perry:

House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Thursday that the Democratic-controlled House would not support the Senate's plan to make cuts to education, but left the door open for possible cuts to other parts of state government.

"We are not going to cut education," Stumbo said. "Not when there is a viable alternative. And there is a viable alternative."

Stumbo's comments came a day after the Republican-controlled Senate passed its version of House Bill 305. That version calls for cuts across state government, including cuts to higher education and K-12 education, to plug a hole in the Medicaid budget.

Now the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate must hammer out an agreement in the waning days of the legislative session. House leaders said late Thursday that they expected negotiations on the budget to begin Friday and were hoping that an agreement could be reached either Friday or Monday...