AUGUSTA – A slowed economy and $190 million less in tax revenue means the state will not be able to boost education spending as planned.

While most parts of state government are getting cut, Gov. John Baldacci is proposing that the state spend $5.5 million more on K-12 education in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

“It’s a little better than flat funded,” Maine Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said Wednesday.

Originally the state was to boost education spending by $40 million, which would mean the state would have been paying for 55 percent of the cost of K-12 education in Maine. The goal of getting to 55 percent of the costs was to relieve property taxes.

The economic downturn, and Baldacci’s call to not raise taxes, means the state will not reach that 55 percent this year, Connerty-Marin said.

“One could argue that $5.5 million (more) is not much of a step forward,” he said. “On the other hand all the rest of state government got cuts.”

Baldacci is recommending that 71.3 state jobs be eliminated, and that $27.5 million be cut in the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2008, Maine government spending was $3.127 billion, Baldacci is proposing it go down to $3.067 billion in 2009. “Maine is reducing spending,” Connerty-Marin said. “It’s only the fourth time in 35 years that’s happened.”

Meanwhile, the number of youngsters in Maine public schools is down. In the past three years, the number of pre-K-12 students dropped 5.1 percent, or by 10,480. In 2004-05, enrollment statewide was 204,712 compared to 194,232 in October, according to DOE.

For Lewiston, the governor’s education spending proposal means the city will get $112,000 more than last year; Auburn will receive $209,284 more, Connerty-Marin said. Before the economy went south, Auburn and Lewiston were each to receive about $1 million more.

Lewiston and Portland will get money for English as a Learning Language students, Connerty-Marin said. He said Lewiston has been one of the biggest receivers of new state education money, with a total of $16 million in the last three years.

Under last week’s legislative Education Committee’s recommendations, Auburn would have received $21,000 less than last year; Lewiston would have lost $159,968. The changes happened because Education Commissioner Susan Gendron found other ways to cut spending so that more money could be given to school districts.

Those proposed cuts include:

• Not buying buses in some districts;

• Postponing borrowing for two projects, including one in Lewiston, because those projects (new schools) weren’t ready for bonding;

• Less money spent in technology learning;

• Deferring professional development; and

• Reducing spending on the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.