Education claims half of the state's spending and it only makes sense it get a lion's share of the state's attention.

That should be true this year as much as any other, possibly more so than any other year considering balancing the state budget will take every department, every branch of government and every South Dakota taxpayer being on board to get the job done.

Earlier this week, Board of Regents Executive Director Tad Perry said the board would be reviewing areas they could save money, citing the usual list of suspects: out-of-state travel, large capital expenditures and leaving current job vacancies open.

We're glad to hear it. State expenditures that go toward education constitute 50 percent of the budget. Half, it's an amazing amount of money dedicated to one very important area. Keeping that in mind, seemingly small changes to the regent's budget can make a big difference to the state budget as a whole.

Already, Gov. Mike Rounds recommended cuts to proposed education funding in his budget address on Tuesday. Among them were trimming sparsity payments, holding off on the state's laptop program and proposing a 3 percent (rather than 4 percent) increase in the per-student funding formula.

Higher education didn't escape Rounds' eye, either. Rounds proposed the legislature postpone spending to some higher education initiatives and the expansion of wireless computer services at some state campuses to the tune of $22.5 million.

But simply postponing proposed spending won't get the job done.

That's where the regents come in. They'll be challenged with making cuts and curtailing programs to save real dollars for South Dakota. Rounds has already set the stage for the kind of work that's to be done. Just recently he put the kibosh on unnecessary spending and, to make an example of himself, canceled two trips that were important for standing of the state, but not for the standing of the budget.

The regents have a real challenge in front of them. Earlier this week a study indicated South Dakota leads the nation in the percentage of students leaving college with loan debt. A separate study showed the state earned an F grade (as did most others) for college affordability.

We don't want to see the debt load increase even more for students but at the same time we realize the state's university system has needs, and they can be expensive.

We hope the regents can balance the future of education spending with the grim reality of the present.

The real budget battle will begin when the 84th Legislative Session convenes in January. Already we can see the sides taking form as Rounds' budget proposal is being dismantled, piece by piece.

This will be a tough year, for education, highways, social services and Joe and Jane Taxpayer. Everyone has to take a close look at their budgets, and we're glad to see it's happening.