EDITORIAL NOT ENOUGH? GOVERNOR'S BUDGET HAS MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOLS THAN EVER, SO WHY ARE HIS CRITICS COMPLAINING?

THE biggest slice of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 2005-06 state budget will go to public schools, representing 42 percent of the general fund spending plan.

And although that's a slightly higher percentage than in the past two budgets, and more than Proposition 98 mandates, Democrats are still complaining that it's not enough.

The real issue is not education funding, it's partisan politics. And even had Schwarzenegger's spending plan allocated 75 percent to education, his critics would find a way to complain.

The proposed spending plan may not give everyone as much as they want, but it's financially sound and does not raise taxes. The argument raised by Democratic legislators masks their real desire: Not just more education money, but higher taxation.