Gov. Dave Heineman did a creditable job of spreading the pain with the budget cuts he proposed Monday.

And he should be complimented for sparing programs for those who need government support the most - children and developmentally disabled Nebraskans.

Programs that escaped Heineman's proposed across-the-board cuts include the Beatrice State Developmental Center and expanded funding to reduce the number of people on waiting list for developmental disability services.

(While the governor did transfer $6 million in state funding for the Beatrice center, that change was because the federal cutoff of funding for the center was extended longer than expected. There was no reduction in actual funding.)

Also spared were services for behavioral health, child protection and safety programs and 24-hour care facilities.

Also worthy of public support is the governor's proposal that state school aid be spared from budget cuts this year. Most school districts already have signed contracts with teachers. Budget cuts at this point would be problematic.

Interestingly, the strings attached to the $234 million in federal stimulus pumped into the state budget earlier this year had the effect of insulating public schools and the university from deeper cuts.

Under the governor's proposal, state aid for next year will remain flat. Schools should be able to cope; state aid jumped more than 10 percent this year. Facing a tougher challenge are the University of Nebraska and state and community colleges, which will have to cut 1.8 percent this year and 3.4 percent next year.

There's no guarantee that the governor's priorities will survive legislative action. Appropriations Committee Chair Lavon Heidemann termed the proposal a "good starting point," saying it's too early to say whether his influential committee will make major cuts or mere tweaks in the proposal.

Too often, programs that help the weak and powerless are tempting targets for government officials trying to cope with revenue shortfalls.

It's a sure bet that high-powered interest groups will be vigorously protecting their own turf. Commodity groups, for example, quickly termed Heineman's proposed transfer of self-imposed checkoff fees from ag producers as "unprecedented."

When Heineman announced almost a month ago that the projected shortfall would require a budget-cutting session, the Journal Star editorial board suggested state officials draw on the cash reserve.

But the latest budget projections have changed our opinion. The projections show a shortfall of more than $1 billion in the 2011-13 biennium, even with an optimistic projection that revenue will rise an average of 8.6 percent a year. Better to keep that money in reserve.

Overall, Heineman's proposed budget cuts show a sensible priority. Senators should start by agreeing quickly that the programs for vulnerable Nebraskans that the governor exempted from across-the-board cuts also would be spared at the legislative level.