Gov. John Baldacci’s State of the State address was filled with talk of fiscal discipline, tough choices and limited government programs.

After customary salutations, some of his first words were about maintaining a strong bond rating. Not exactly the stuff of inspiration, but important nonetheless.

Many of the governor’s themes, if not details, echoed those of the president, who followed with his State of the Union address a little more than an hour after Baldacci spoke. Building the economy, education, tax relief, community colleges and energy showed up in both speeches.

President Bush, free from the constraints of a balanced budget, offered a much more dynamic, and questionable, vision. But the governor was not without a few zingers of his own, and they will force tough decisions.

The biggest, by far, is the governor’s call to expand the state’s student laptop program into ninth grade and then beyond. It’s a great initiative. As Elbert Starks writes on the front of today’s Perspective section, we may be facing a new definition of what it means to be literate. Computers already have revolutionized communication. In tomorrow’s work world, literacy may be judged more by computer skills than dexterity with book, pad and pencil.

Yet estimates suggest the program could cost as much as $25 million a year by the time it’s fully implemented through the 12th grade. For the expansion next year, the governor wants to use money from a fund developed to pay for renovations to school buildings, meaning some needed fixes might not get made. After next year, localities would share the cost of the computers. That money comes from property taxes.

It’s a bold idea, but the costs are significant.

The governor also bragged, and rightly so, of the transition from technical colleges to community colleges. He laid out a plan to expand enrollment and financial assistance. And we like the idea of encouraging more high school students to take crossover classes at community colleges. But both the University of Maine system and community colleges face funding cuts as part of efforts to bridge the state’s $109 million budget shortfall.

There’s also an odd disconnect in the governor’s emphasis on computers for younger students and his call for the state’s universities and community colleges to develop degree programs in hospitality and tourism.

If the governor has his way, the personal property tax on business equipment and machinery will be repealed. That would provide an incentive for companies to invest and modernize. But cash-strapped localities would lose revenue.

School consolidation could save money. We pay too much for school administration as it is. But that money won’t come quickly or easily. When it comes to closing schools – alma maters with state champion teams – expect real fights.

We like the governor’s ideas, but the state budget must balance and new taxes are out of the question. We have a budget hole this year and another expected in 2005. For every new program that’s promised, an old program faces cuts or elimination.

Already, Republicans in the Legislature are rebelling against the governor’s proposed cuts and his priorities. Pressure on the state to curtail all discretionary spending will be intense.

Great ideas fester into frustration when they can’t be put to work. That’s the dilemma facing the governor. The checkbook’s got to balance.
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