After spending Mother’s Day in “two-thirds land” with its budget deliberations, the Legislature emerged from Memorial Day with momentum toward approving the total package.

Lawmakers start deliberating the two-year, $6.4 billion budget today in the House, after the Appropriations Committee sealed the final details late last week.

Included in the budget is hard-fought school administration reform that promises to save $36 million, by reducing Maine’s districts to 80 and severely penalizing districts that fail to collaborate or consolidate.

The budget has strong bipartisan support, which should seal its swift enactment. Pressing the issue is further debate on the package which could stall another major initiative that needs lawmakers’ full attention: taxation reform.

Proposals before the Taxation Committee would flatten Maine’s income tax rate to 6 percent, and broaden the sales tax to make the plan revenue-neutral. The budget, as designed, is promised to provide tax relief to Mainers.

The Taxation Committee is promising tax reform, by changing how the state raises money. In theory, lowering income taxes while broadening sales taxes should export tax burden away from Maine residents, but critics maintain there are many devils in the details.

Achieving education reform, through the budget-driven consolidation, and taxation reform in the same session is a laudable goal, yet will be difficult to do with about three weeks remaining.

This doesn’t mean the Legislature shouldn’t try. Further quibbling over the budget, however, after already intense scrutiny is the surefire way to derail the needed focus on taxation.