Legislators in Sacramento say the state can't afford the cuts to higher education proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, particularly those that would keep more than 10,000 students from being admitted to California universities. Those students earned the right to an education through their good grades and test scores, the lawmakers say, as they demand the funds be restored.

We couldn't agree more -- a strong system of higher education is good for the state, and undoubtedly good for students who have worked hard in the expectation they would get into college. There's just one problem: The legislators don't seem willing to even think about making cuts elsewhere to get the money they want to devote to education.

The funny thing is, there's not really all that much money at stake, at least in comparison to the overall budget of $77.6 billion. A few hundred million dollars is all that it would take to completely restore the cuts the governor has proposed in his budget, which is due for a revision from the Legislature by July 30. Surely higher education is worth a trek through the budget in search of any remaining fat that can be cut.

Keeping a promise that the top tier of graduating high-school seniors would be guaranteed a spot in either the California State University system or the University of California is a noble cause for lawmakers to take up, and it makes good common sense to keep up the systems that train a modern workforce and maintain state leadership in research. If legislators were looking for a bedrock issue to support and defend, they couldn't have picked a better one.

But both the governor and the Legislature must be on board with the concept of reining in the inflated expenditures that played a big part in creating the state's budget mess. The state, unfortunately, just can't pay for everything.

Gov. Schwarzenegger should listen to legislators and keep the door open for restoring funding to the universities. And lawmakers should put on a big pot of coffee and commit to some late nights looking for ways to cut other costs. There are always further savings to be made in any budget, especially one as big as California's. We're confident the Legislature can find the savings to get back the education funding it wants.