Times are good, but not that good. Gov. Jerry Brown is basking in the latest numbers showing California's budget in balance with a $4 billion-plus surplus heading toward schools. In confirming the latest numbers, the governor also sent a warning to fellow Democrats in the Legislature to forget any other major spending plans.

The state is on a upward curve, and Brown is right to keep it headed that way. California's once-feeble finances have strengthened as tax revenues improved and voters approved a tax increase package last November. In January, Brown broke the news that the budget was balanced, a trend that has now created the first surplus in years.

The extra money will largely go to public education under voter-approved laws that steer added revenue to education. An unresolved quarrel lies ahead between Brown's idea to spend it on poor districts and other Democrats who want it spent on low-income kids no matter which school district they attend. It's a worthy quarrel, worth having.

The new school money is part of Brown's plan to pay down the "wall of debt," his phrase for a towering $28 billion in loans that Sacramento ran up in recent years. The governor's spending plans may lower the figure to $8 billion.

It's all good news - at least for now. Brown warned about federal cuts, a still-unpredictable economy and pressures to restore past trims. "This place is like a big spending machine," he said. He also faces court decisions that may oblige major prison spending.

His overall choice to hold the line on new programs and pay down cash-eating debt remains the right course for California.