Governors and state lawmakers are poised to kick off their toughest legislative sessions in years, with the hope of sparing K-12 education from deep budget cuts in the face of mounting deficits--a far cry from the more typical push for new policy initiatives and school programs. Simply holding the line may prove difficult. Together, 31 states face existing fiscal 2009 budget gaps totaling $30 billion, and are already cutting precollegiate education to help close those shortfalls, according to the latest semiannual fiscal survey released by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers. That total, which is bound to grow, does not take into account $3.6 billion that has already been cut this year as 13 states made midyear trims to their fiscal 2009 budgets. In a trend not seen since the deep recession of the early 1980s, according to the fiscal report, overall state spending is declining this fiscal year--a bad sign for K-12 education, which is usually a signature part of governors' agendas. Finance officials are predicting that this overall downturn--which officially became a recession in December 2007--could affect states for four years before a significant recovery occurs.