FRANKFORT — Another round of state budget cuts, this one possibly affecting education, may be necessary because of a new revenue shortfall that could reach $225 million, a state official said.

        State Budget Director James Ramsey said he expects a new revenue shortfall this fiscal year of $150 million to $225 million, or about 2 percent to 3 percent, in the General Fund.

        The latest projections come on top of spending cuts, fund transfers and other steps by Gov. Paul Patton's administration to meet a previous $300 million shortfall. The administration accounted for that gap by taking $120 million from the state's emergency fund and by making budget cuts. Education programs were shielded from those cuts.

        Mr. Ramsey told the Louisville Courier-Journal on Thursday that few painless moves will be available in a second round of cuts.

        “And the big policy debate in this next round is whether we can continue to cut without cutting education, which we've spared so far,” Mr. Ramsey said.

        Education officials said they hope their programs won't be cut but have planned for such a possibility because of revenue trends.

        Mr. Ramsey said education spending consumes about 60 percent of the General Fund each year.

        The exact size of the additional shortfall should be known next week.

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