AUGUSTA -- Gov. John Baldacci announced $80 million in budget cuts for the current fiscal year to help the state balance its budget. The biggest cuts will be to education and Health and Human Services.

"Our country faces a dangerous recession, and Maine, like a majority of states, must deal with declining revenues," Baldacci said in a prepared statement. "We have an obligation to make sure we finish the year with a balanced budget. Today's curtailment is the first of a series of steps we must take to bring spending in line with available resources."

The proposed cuts include $27.7 million from the education budget, mostly in general purpose aid, the state subsidy to the schools, meaning it will be up to the school districts to determine where the cuts will be. Commissioner Sue Gendron told reporters after the announcement that districts will look to have the least impact on children and employees of the districts. Likely targets for cuts will be support staff in the classroom, she said.

Health and human services will see $30.7 million in cuts. That includes $2.9 million from state-funded foster care and adoption assistance, $4.3 million for proper accounting of Medicare Part B payments, $2.9 million from converting Medicare payments to monthly installments, $4 million to converting nursing facility payments to monthly installments, $6.6 million for community programs impacted by federal changes and $7 million from the Bureau of Medical Services Block Grant account.

Higher education will also be affected. $2.9 million has been cut from the community college system, and $8.3 million has been cut from the university system.

In addition, $2.2 million has been cut from the Department of Administrative and Financial Services and $1 million from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

When asked for comments, legislative leaders said they had not yet reviewed the curtailment order and therefore could not comment at this time.

This is just the first in a round of proposed cuts. Baldacci will have a supplemental budget out next month which will likely contain more cuts, and legislators will address the budget shortfall when they reconvene in January.