The negotiations surrounding the pending cuts to this year’s state budget continued on at the Capitol Monday with Gov. Tom Vilsack’s offer to compromise with Republican legislators.The governor said he could accept a cut between $8 million and $10 million, but Republicans — who recently proposed $40 million in cuts — said that will not be enough.Action on the budget was delayed last week after a massive lobbying effort on behalf of labor unions, state public-safety officials, state labor officials and regent-university students.Under the Republican proposal, about $12.2 million would be cut from higher education, including an $8 million blow to the regent universities’ current budgets. Iowa State’s budget would be sliced by about $3.3 million, the University of Iowa by about $4 million and the University of Northern Iowa by about $1 million.Republican leaders said they will push for a bigger cut to avoid major problems with the 2002 budget.”We have determined that, even if the cuts are done next year, we will still face approximately between $200 [million] and $300 million in cuts in 2002,” said Jeff Lamberti, R-Ankeny. “We have bigger problems to come. The number gets closer to $200 [million] if we take action this year. If we do not take action, it will be around $300 [million].”He said the state-revenue estimates are about 4 percent less than expected because sales and income taxes — which make up 75 percent of the state’s budget — are flat.Johnie Hammond, D-Ames, said she thinks the state could cut $10 million to $12 million without interrupting the day-to-day operations of state-funded institutions and services.”With a tightening of the belt and a willingness to spend less, we could probably come up with that kind of balance at the end of the year,” she said. “[Vilsack] is drawing a line in the sand at this point. He wants anything that comes along not to have a chaotic effect.”Dan Fogleman, communications director for the House speaker office, said budget cuts are the only way to dodge a financial disaster.”It’s the only way to make the budget balance,” he said. “The Republican philosophy is that it hurts a little bit now, but it eases a little of the pain that’s going to be there next year.”Several ISU student representatives took part in the wide-ranging lobbying effort against the proposed cuts, and Hammond said the student presentation put faces with numbers.”This was good testimony, and it was persuasive,” she said. “Who wants to tell a family with four kids in college that you’re not going to be able to send one of them? Who wants to tell them that you’re going to have to go out of state to get a higher salary to pay off your student loans?”Hammond said students probably are going to see a tuition increase next year, but legislators will work to keep it as low as possible.”But, the revenue projections are pretty gloomy,” she said. “I think you’re going to see more of an increase than you would hope for.”Lamberti said higher education is just one area that will have to cut back on spending.”If it were up to me, I would encourage [the Board of Regents] before they jump to increase tuition to look at duplication of programs and things like that,” he said. “We would prefer not to be in this situation, but we’re attempting to spread the pain over two fiscal years. It’s not a matter of if we cut, it’s a matter of when.”