HARRISBURG — Education issues have been at the center of Gov. Ed Rendell's governing agenda since the former Philadelphia mayor took office more than seven years ago, and that doesn't appear to be changing during negotiations for what will be the final state budget of his administration.

The Democratic governor was speaking to reporters shortly after a budget meeting with legislative leaders last week when the topic turned to the size of the state's annual contribution to basic education funding.

"There's nothing more important to the commonwealth's future, nothing," Rendell said. "And you know how much I've devoted myself to education and seeing that our schools have the resources (so) that our kids can reach their potential, and guys, I'm ready, I'm ready for the 101 days if necessary."

The leading Senate Republican budget negotiators emerged from the meeting at Rendell's residence warning about $850 million in expected federal aid for low-income health care has not been authorized by Congress, and might not be. It's just the sort of problem that could produce a repeat of the budget delay last year that was not resolved until October, 101 days into the fiscal year.

"If the governor wants to have a budget done close to June 30, it would require a degree of compromise by him and the administration towards the position of the General Assembly," said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware. "We didn't see that flexibility in June or July or even August of last year."

In every one of Rendell's previous budgets, basic education funding has grown from the previous year. It was $6.9 billion when he took office, and has risen to about $11 billion in the current year. In eight years under Rendell's Republican predecessors, Gov. Tom Ridge and Gov. Mark Schweiker, basic education funding grew much more slowly, from $5.7 billion to $6.9 billion.

The $29 billion budget proposal he released in February would increase basic education funding by about $99.2 million and include $1.6 billion in stimulus money.

Even last year's three-month budget stalemate didn't keep Rendell from getting a $300 million increase, albeit less than the $418 million he had proposed. Those figures are the basic education "subsidy," a subset of total basic education funding, so the comparable increase he is seeking for the coming year is $354 million.

Rendell said he was determined to prevent losing ground on the gains Pennsylvania students have made, as reflected in higher standardized test scores.

His aides say more money can help further reduce the number of schoolchildren two or more years behind grade level and improve the readiness of high school graduates for college or a career. And they note the state's share of education funding remains below 40 percent, comparatively low among states and a continuing problem for local property tax payers who have to make up the difference.

Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said his caucus "strongly supports" education funding but at a responsible and sustainable level.

"We're not necessarily saying you should cut education or cut this or cut that," he said Friday. "We're saying this is what we have to spend and you have to fit within that reality."

Rendell in his February budget address ranked education as his most important commitment, and his Thursday afternoon remarks to reporters indicated his priorities have not changed a bit.