MONTGOMERY — Gov. Bob Riley ordered further cutbacks in the state education budget Friday because of declining tax collections and has drawn the last $116 million out of the state's rainy day fund to prevent deeper cuts.

Riley had declared 9 percent proration in December, but he increased it by 2 percentage points to 11 percent on Friday. Riley said tax collections for education have dropped 10 percent since December.

"No one is pleased that the economic situation requires further reductions in education, but they must be made in order for Alabama to meet its obligation to taxpayers to have a balanced budget," Riley said.

Riley says the latest cutback means the state will spend $5.7 billion on education this fiscal year. That's down $1 billion from fiscal 2008.

Alabama's constitution prohibits deficit spending and gives the governor the power to cut spending when appropriations exceed tax collections.

The budget cuts come as local school officials around the state are preparing to open their doors for the 2009-2010 school year, which begins in early to mid-August in most areas.

"A good many local boards have already had to cut back. Some now may have to go out and borrow money. That's never a pleasant solution," said state Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, chairman of the House committee that prepares the education budget.

Lindsey said the proration may mean some school districts will have to lay off teachers who are funded by the local school board and not by the state education budget.

In a letter to local school superintendents Friday, state schools Superintendent Joe Morton warned that the budget for the upcoming school year may also start out with the governor having to make cuts. He said it will be difficult for school systems to find ways to reduce spending.

"We will work with you to help you get through this in the best way possible," Morton told the superintendents.

In a statement, Morton said Riley was wise to release money from the "rainy day" fund now rather that wait until closer to the start of the new school year.

"Today's action is called for and the best response we have in dealing with this crippling recession," Morton said.

The executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards, Sally Howell, said local officials will struggle to find places to cut spending, partly because the Legislature already reduced money for textbooks and eliminated funds for classroom supplies, two areas that are often cut in tough economic times.

"It's a hardship. There's no way around it," Howell said. "There's no wiggle room. The areas that traditionally have always been cut have already been cut."

The chairman of the Senate education budget committee, Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, said the cuts will have particularly negative effects on poor school systems in his southwest Alabama district, which covers much of the state's economically disadvantaged Black Belt region.

"Other systems can say they are going to cut the fat. But in poor systems there never was any fat. They've been cutting muscle and now they are going to be cutting bone," Sanders said.

Riley is expected to call a special session of the Legislature in August to deal with a budget crisis in Alabama's largest county, Jefferson. Sanders said he understands the governor is hoping to avoid dealing with finding ways to improve funding for education in that special session.

"But I expect some of us may talk about it," Sanders said.