Among the numerous problems facing the Buffalo Public Schools is a new $22.8 million budget hole created by Albany's fiscal mess.

Gov. David A. Paterson has issued thousands of vetoes in recent weeks, but one has opened a giant budget gap for Buffalo schools -- after district officials had already closed a $49 million deficit. It's time for the Senate, Assembly and governor to fix these problems.

The city school district's new fiscal problem came about when the governor issued about 6,000 vetoes, including one that lifted a freeze on charter school payments. With that action, Paterson increased the city school district's costs by $11.3 million. This page remains supportive of charter schools, despite Superintendent James A. Williams' longtime demand for a change in the funding structure, but it's not right to saddle the district with an additional deficit so close to the start of the new school year.

Another veto eliminated a revenue advance for pensions dating back to 2004-2005, causing a revenue decrease of $11.5 million to the district.

Together, the vetoes will cost the district $22.8 million, after officials had balanced its budget to deal with the earlier $49 million deficit, which was done without cutting programs. Now there's a new budget hole and the question of where the money will be found.

The good news is that Williams met with the governor's staff and sent a letter to the Western New York state legislative delegation for advice and recommendations.

If the veto stands, the district will have to amend the current 2010-11 budget by decreasing $22.8 million in expenditures.

Undoubtedly, a large reduction to the work force would seriously impede the Buffalo Public Schools' mission to serve students and could impact classrooms, which is what the superintendent is trying to avoid.

Williams' staff will examine the retirement list and determine what additional positions can be reduced. If the veto stands, the district might have to reconsider Phase 5 of the joint schools reconstruction project, which includes Schools 53, 61 and Olmsted. The result would be a need to consider school closure as an option.

New York is working its way through a severe financial crisis. There is no way to deal with it painlessly. But this veto shouldn't stand. School officials need to work with the governor and the Western New York legislative delegation to find a better way to deal with the state's financial problems than to hand one of the state's poorest school districts with a $22.8 million bill.