Always the negotiator, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg says he usually doesn't take anything off the table for discussion.

But the Sacramento Democrat says he's doing so now on cuts that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and GOP lawmakers seek for schools and welfare-to-work programs.

To sustain those programs, Democrats want $4.5 billion in higher taxes, some on corporations and oil firms, but others that could eventually raise costs for the middle class, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

Democratic leaders vow to be as stubborn against spending cuts as Republicans are against tax hikes in solving the projected $19 billion deficit. The standoff is one reason the budget impasse has crept into the middle of August with no immediate resolution in sight.

To make his point, Steinberg visited Smythe Academy Middle School and the Greater Sacramento Urban League in North Sacramento on Thursday. Both serve low-income neighborhoods and would suffer under deep state cuts, Steinberg noted.

"You hear the stories here, and the stories say it better than any budget document ever could," he said.

At Smythe, Principal Erik Swanson said the Twin Rivers Unified School District laid off nine of 16 teachers this year, replacing them with nine teachers from other schools who had more tenure. Officials have shortened the school year and increased class sizes.

"This year I have three kindergarten teachers teaching seventh-grade pre-algebra and seventh-grade science," Swanson said. "Now I just met them, and I believe they have a lot of very good training and are probably excellent practitioners. But that shift in content and adolescence – it's a big shift."

Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, said California can't ask taxpayers for more money after raising taxes on sales, vehicles and income last year. He said Schwarzenegger's budget would provide schools with the same dollar amount they received last year.

Democrats consider that equivalent to a $3 billion cut because the state has to spend more money to sustain the same level of programs as last year, in part because the state now has to pay off past costs that were deferred.

The Greater Sacramento Urban League provides everything from GED test preparation to teen pregnancy prevention counseling. About 30 percent of those who visit the Urban League rely on CalWORKs, the state's welfare-to-work program, said David DeLuz, Urban League president and CEO.

Ryan Sproull, a single father taking computer classes, said he relies on CalWORKs for everything from transportation to child care. "If it were to go away, I don't know where I'd be right now," he said.

Hollingsworth said that if Democrats won't accept cuts in welfare-to-work, they should find cuts elsewhere. Democrats say they've already accepted billions in cuts on things such as prison health care and state worker costs.

"Nobody wants to have to do many of the things that are necessary to balance this budget, but the fact is, we've got to reduce spending," Hollingsworth said.

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