In three separate budget agreements, the Republican governor pledges greater state assistance for public schools, higher education and local government in future years in exchange for less funding this year.

The strategy baffles fiscal analysts, who say Schwarzenegger is trying to solve a current deficit by locking the state into future spending commitments it probably cannot afford.

``It doesn't address the ongoing difference between revenues and expenditures,'' said Claire Cohen, vice chairwoman of Fitch Ratings, one of Wall Street's three major credit-rating firms. ``It just pays for old bills.''

The governor is announcing the latest side deals this week before his Thursday unveiling of the revised budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The deals, which are key parts of the spending plan, require approval of the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

The governor's leading Democratic critic, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, questions the agreements.

``When the governor came into office, he bemoaned the fact that previous governors and Legislatures had created inherited debt, bills that had to be paid into the future,'' Angelides said. ``But now we see a series of budget deals that are in fact doing this again, and doing it in spades.''

Schwarzenegger on Tuesday defended the bargains. He said the state would be able to meet the obligations through cost-cutting and increased revenues generated by the state's economic recovery.

The administration is ``not papering over deficits as we have seen in the past,'' said H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesman. ``This involves setting priorities, and the governor has made it clear he is taking the lead in setting priorities in coming years.''

To be sure, the deals are not rock-solid. Despite the agreements, the governor cannot lock in spending beyond the upcoming year because the Legislature must approve the budget annually.

Nevertheless, Schwarzenegger said, ``I think our compact is so good that anyone that will look at it will say, `This is terrific. We should stay with it no matter who is going to be the next governor.' ''

For Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, a non-partisan group advocating for lower- and middle-income families, the arrangement with local governments illustrates her concern. Under the deal, to be announced today, cities and counties would accept $1.3 billion less in state assistance each of the next two years, but after that their funding would be protected.

``It's not clear how the administration plans to fund the promises it's making,'' Ross said.

The governor's other two pacts, to steadily increase higher education funding and to boost K-12 spending, while laudable, would add to the projected deficit in future years, Ross said.

Before the deals, California faced a $7 billion deficit in fiscal year 2005-06 because of an ongoing imbalance between the state's forecast revenues and expenditures, according to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

Without corrective action -- deeper cuts, higher taxes or a combination -- the state is headed toward annual shortfalls of $5 billion to $7 billion for the next four fiscal years, the office predicts.

However, an administration source said the governor's revised budget will offer a brighter picture. The plan will estimate the 2005-06 shortfall to be less than $5 billion.

Solving the long-term ``structural'' problem is critical for the state to win higher credit ratings and therefore better interest rates, Wall Street analysts say.

Fitch Ratings is waiting to see if state lawmakers can break their habit of borrowing to balance the budget, Cohen said. ``We have yet to see any progress toward solving the ongoing problem.''