Some key educational plans included in Gov. Mark Sanford’s proposed state budget are hitting lawmakers’ desks with a thud.

Budget leaders in the House and Senate said Thursday they opposed a move to increase per-pupil spending by dipping into an education fund designed for special programs.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said that money, created by a penny sales tax under the 1984 Education Improvement Act, shouldn’t be touched.

“I expect there will be some resistance because that penny was set aside for specific, new education funding,” Wilkins said.

Under Sanford’s plan, $43 million would be transferred from the fund and sent back to local districts.

Department of Education spokesman Jim Foster said that would do little to reach the goal of adequately supporting education.

“If you just move money from one pot to another, you’re just creating an illusion that you’re getting the job done,” he said.

In a repeat of last year, Sanford’s proposals to eliminate two of USC’s branch campuses — Union and Salkahatchie — and cut some of Clemson University’s public service programs also are gaining no traction.

“There needs to be some cuts,” said Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, chairman of the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee. “But I can tell you they shouldn’t come from higher education.”

Sanford’s office sparred last year with Clemson officials and legislators over $31 million spent on programs such as gardening education and rural leadership development.

On Wednesday, Sanford proposed cutting Clemson’s public service budget by more than $5 million.

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said those programs must be weighed against more pressing state needs.

“The reason our budget was able to add substantial funding to K-12, public safety and fund health care prevention was because we made the difficult spending decisions,” said Folks, adding that total dollars to state colleges were going up.

Harrell said that tough choices must be made but that other cuts should be considered before colleges are targeted. He declined to offer specifics.

“It’s not a question of whether you fund A or B, it’s whether you fund A or B through Z,” he said.

Harrell’s committee will start a formal review of Sanford’s budget proposal next month.

Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or jstensland@thestate.com.