AUBURN - For the Auburn Enlarged City School District, the word is “painful.”

School administrators and board members threw out a lot of words during a board workshop Tuesday to describe measures that need to be taken to offset cuts to school aid as New York deals with the current fiscal crisis, but they were sure not to sugarcoat how hard the next several years may be.

Under Gov. David Paterson's preliminary budget proposal, Auburn is in line to lose more than $1.4 million in state aid during the 2009-10 academic year.

According to business administrator Marianne O'Connor, for Auburn - which is currently operating under a state-mandated contingency budget - to pay its bills for the next fiscal year, the district needs to find $3.5 million.

Some of that money may be found in the district's reserve funds, but O'Connor said she certainly does not recommend using all of the money set aside. So district leaders spent 2.5 hours Tuesday discussing broad ways to save money for the next several years without causing critical injury to education, and thereby children.

“We spent the last six years talking and hearing from the community how poor our grades are, graduation rates are ...,” board member Michael Stearns said.

“In no way at all academically can we impact the education of our kids. At all. Period. Whether we cut things that will hurt us individually or personally, in no way, shape or form can we hurt our children academically.”

Every board member said they would rather see class sizes rise than see educational programs cut from the budget.

Every board member recognized the importance clubs and athletics have in motivating students to come to school.

But at the same time, they know that desperate times require desperate measures.

“I think in all realism it's going to get much worse,” Vice President Sam Giangreco said. “I think we as a board and administrators, our first priority - I love music, I love sports, I love everything, the electives, I love everything. They are part of education ... but our first priority is to educate. Period. And we have got to provide that the best possible way we can. Whatever way we have to cut, whatever sacrifices we have to make, we have to provide that education to the kids.

“That is our first priority and we absolutely have to address it,” he continued. “It's going to hurt. It's going to be gut-wrenching. What we will look like in this community won't be pretty. We won't be popular. But we have to worry about the kids. This is catastrophic and we haven't seen the worst of this.”

This will be the first of many discussions in the coming months about the cost-saving measures requisite in the upcoming fiscal year. In addition to conversations at the board level, district leaders are hosting community forums this month for feedback and some direction.

The first meeting is slated from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 20 at the West Middle School auditorium, and the other from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 at the East Middle School library.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net