Barnes orders more budget cuts, including school salaries

ATLANTA - Warning of a possible shortfall, Governor Barnes&#39; outgoing administration ordered deeper budget cuts throughout state government Wednesday and this time extended the curbs to teacher salaries and other educational needs. <br> <br> A memo to department heads from Barnes&#39; budget director, Bill Tomlinson, said the state&#39;s recovery has not been sufficient to meet budgetary needs and ordered agencies to cut another two percent, for a total five percent, in this year&#39;s budget. <br> <br> The memo warned that similar cuts would be needed next year. <br> <br> Spending for school instruction had been exempt from previous cuts, but in a separate memo to state school superintendents Tomlinson warned the state will reduce its payments by two percent. <br> <br> He said school systems will be given special flexibility from existing spending rules to cope with the reduction. <br> <br> Barnes, a lame-duck who was defeated for re-election last week, approved the memo and kept Governor-elect Sonny Perdue informed, according to Barnes&#39; press secretary, Joselyn Butler. <br> <br> Dan McLagan, a spokesman for Perdue, said the governor-elect was informed of the proposed step Tuesday. <br> <br> McLagan said, ``It&#39;s something the administration is doing and has been prepared to do for quite some time. We&#39;re not in a position to do anything about it. We were simply informed.&#39;&#39;