By Kevin Yamamura, Torey Van Oot and Jim Sanders, Sacramento Bee

California state budgets rarely look better than on the day they are signed.

With the fiscal year starting Sunday, revenue has yet to fall short, cuts face no legal challenges and polls show a multibillion-dollar tax initiative clinging to a slim majority of voter support.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a spending plan Wednesday that he hopes will put California’s budget troubles to bed for good. One of his demands was that Democrats send him a plan that not only eliminates the current $15.7 billion deficit but maintains a balanced budget in years to come.

But it will take a hefty dose of optimism to believe California will avoid budget struggles hereafter.

For starters, the budget plan relies on voters passing a temporary tax hike on sales and high-income earners to raise $8.5 billion in the current budget cycle.

If that fails, K-12 schools face classroom reductions, while universities and community colleges also stand to lose funding. Few believe education groups would take such cuts lightly, setting up another battle over school funding next spring, if not beforehand.

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