Not long after he took office in January, California Governor Jerry Brown presented residents of his state with a simple, stark plan for correcting the state's massive budget imbalance. The Democrat called for making deep and painful cuts to programs across government, while sparing schools. To raise revenue, he proposed allowing the public to vote on a series of tax increases and extensions, which he said would provide enough money to avert even larger cuts to the state budget, particularly to K-12 programs. The state legislature agreed to make cuts. But Mr. Brown's plan to raise money through taxes has so far failed to win the Republican support it needs to get on the ballot, leaving California's school systems in a state of uncertainty. The state's school districts, which serve more than 6 million students and have seen their per-pupil aid fall from three years ago, could be forced to make extensive layoffs, raise class sizes, and eliminate more programs and services if state funding is cut again. The governor has sought to break the legislative impasse by launching a public campaign to try to persuade enough Republicans to help him place his tax plan on the ballot, possibly this coming fall. If that doesn't work, he will support a separate effort to collect public signatures to put a ballot measure before the voters. Republicans say the governor is presenting the public with a false choice between raising taxes and cutting school budgets. They have called for him to take more serious steps toward controlling state costs by placing firm caps on state spending, making workers' pensions less generous, and encouraging cost-saving measures, such as establishing private contracts for services in K-12 systems. The Golden State is hardly alone in its financial troubles. Forty-four states are projecting budget shortfalls for fiscal 2012, and their tax collections, adjusted for inflation, are 11 percent below pre-recession levels.