Lawmakers did not take action last week on a budget-cutting measure that would have made mid-year education reductions of $836 million this school year, as Gov. David Paterson had recommended. The education cuts are still on the table, but Paterson said today he is withdrawing his proposal because “it is unlikely the Legislature will consider them anytime soon.

“Therefore, we would be well into the final quarter of our fiscal year and even further into the school year before any action would likely occur,” the governor wrote in a letter to school board presidents and superintendents. “Unfortunately, this timing renders the proposal impractical for this fiscal year and I am withdrawing it.

But that means the state will need deeper reductions in education spending next year to close the budget deficit, which is $1.5 billion now and is expected to be $12.5 billion for 2009-10 and a combined $47 billion over four years. Paterson is scheduled to release his 2009-10 budget proposal Dec. 16, a month earlier than the tradition release date.

“I acknowledge that your costs are rising, but I believe all levels of government must reduce spending,” Paterson’s letter to school boards and superintendents said. “This year, I have reduced state agency spending by more than 10 percent. In this unprecedented fiscal crisis, school districts, like all levels of government, will have to take a similar approach and find ways to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their operations on behalf of taxpayers.”

School leaders have said they expected to take a greater hit because the mid-year budget cuts were not approved, and districts have been planning their budgets conservatively.

Paterson’s letter said essentially that there are no sacred cows when it comes to cuts.

The state has boosted education funding by large amounts in recent years, particularly in poor, urban areas, in response to a court decision on education equity. Because of the state’s poor fiscal condition, that growth cannot continue at the pace that had been planned, he said.

The governor’s proposal for mid-year cuts, which lawmakers declined to act on last week, would have decreased the growth in education spending by a range of 5 percent to 9 percent over last year. Overall, school aid would have been $1 billion higher than 2007-08 instead of the previously expected $1.8 billion more. A planned $1.9 billion boost for 2009-10 is not feasible, Paterson wrote. School aid has increased by 48 percent over five years, and more than 20 percent in the last two years alone.