Gov. John Baldacci used his inaugural address Wednesday night to push a plan to save money by cutting the number of school superintendent administrative districts in the state from 152 to 26 and reiterate a campaign vow to offer property tax relief by freezing home values for permanent Maine residents.

Both proposals will be controversial, but Baldacci said he’s ready for a good fight.

“We must support excellence in education; not excess administration,” he said of his school administration consolidation plan. There currently are 152 superintendents in Maine in charge of 290 school districts.

On freezing valuations – a proposal that failed in the last Legislature because of concerns about simply shifting the tax burden and truncating municipal revenues – Baldacci said it “must be done” this session.

“Change is always threatening, but it’s time we put the needs of permanent Maine residents ahead of all the special interest groups and ahead of those who benefit from the ever rising property tax burden,” he said.

Baldacci also promised that this year, new state aid for education would be passed onto taxpayers for “immediate property tax relief,” as the state reaches its goal of funding 55 percent of K-12 costs.

“If it’s not guaranteed, I’m going to veto the legislation,” he said.

In a speech punctuated with polite if not sustained applause, Baldacci referred to a report done by the national Brookings Institution and paid for by GrowSmart Maine. It was released a month before the election.

It calls for investing bond money in research and development to grown new industries in Maine, cutting down on school administration costs and cutting back on the state government. It also calls for better-planned growth to protect Maine’s pristine landscape and keep the small-town feel of its communities.

“The Brookings study has given us not just a blueprint to improve our economy, but a way to lift the extensive pessimism that permeates this state,” Baldacci said, referring to the good news that young people are returning to the state and incomes are starting to rise.

What Baldacci didn’t address, at least not to the satisfaction of Republicans in the crowd, is what he’s going to do fill a projected budget gap in the near term and cut down on the size of state government over the long haul. Baldacci will be releasing his two-year state budget plan on Friday.

Legislators from both sides of the aisle, who gathered at the Augusta Civic Center for Baldacci’s swearing in and inaugural address, questioned whether his estimate of saving $250 million over three years by cutting back on the number of superintendent districts was realistic.

Based on published salaries, if every superintendent in the state were eliminated it would save less than $15 million annually. The Brookings Institution said $25 million annually could be saved by bringing Maine’s school administrative costs down to the national average.

“He’s talking about making school districts, and county and municipal budgets smaller, but what about state government?” asked Sen. Richard Nass, R-York County, an advocate of reducing the number of state employees.

Sen. Richard Rosen, the assistant minority leader, said Baldacci was “a cheerleader for Maine,” in his address and “that’s an important role for the governor to fill.”

But Rosen said he didn’t hear anything new.

“Four years ago he talked about economic growth, and two years ago he talked about tax relief. He’s returned to tax relief and economic growth. Those are two themes we’ve heard before,” Rosen said.

Rep. Josh Tardy, the minority leader in the House, said he liked the governor’s tone about being less pessimistic as a state, but said it needed more than “lip service.”

Tardy also noted there was no discussion of Dirigo Health, health insurance reform or access to affordable health care in the governor’s speech. “Those are certainly a priority for Republicans,” he said.

While Senate President Beth Edmonds, who presided over the inaugural ceremonies, stood in a long receiving line with the governor after his address, House Speaker Glenn Cummings gave his reaction.

“First it set the tone of action, a tone of urgency,” Cummings said, and hit “core issues- taxes and spending, access to higher education and keeping Maine Maine.”

As for cutting down on the number of school districts, Cumming said, “it’s an important goal for Maine to work toward,” but won’t happen without local support.

“Maine people are going to have to participate to move Maine forward,” he said.