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Whether they want to preserve class size, speak up for swimming and athletics or save Sabillasville Elementary, Frederick County school officials are seeking feedback from parents and residents on their proposed $511 million operating budget for fiscal 2011.

Having finalized their proposed spending plan for the year beginning July 1, school officials are inviting the public to comment on it during a public hearing Monday. It will be the first chance for residents to comment on the proposed budget, which includes 26 cuts and reductions of $17 million.

Expecting a budget deficit of at least $10 million, school officials have already arranged proposed budget cuts in four tiers by order of priority. However, board members said they want to hear if the public wants to see changes in those priorities before the request goes to the Frederick Board of County Commissioners on March 1.

"People want to understand that we don't want to do any of these cuts," said board member Jean A. Smith, who said that the proposed fiscal 2011 budget may be one of the tightest she has seen since she joined the board in 1994. "Everybody is telling us to save, but nobody is telling us what to cut," Smith said.

The school system's proposed budget is $14 million higher that the budget for the current fiscal year. It includes no funding for new initiatives or salary increases, and will only allow the school system to provide the same or fewer services next year.

The increase in the budget includes normal inflation, increases in state mandates, and the staff and start-up costs for the new Oakdale High School, the newly remodeled West Frederick Middle School, and the additions at Carroll Manor and Walkersville Elementary, said Hal Keller, the school system's director for fiscal services. The increase also factors in the increase in the need for staff to teach a growing population of English Language Learners.

School officials anticipate receiving $233.7 million in funding from the state, which is about $3.7 million higher than state funding this year. County funding, however, is still uncertain, especially if the Board of County Commissioners applies for a waiver to reduce its contribution to the school system by 5 percent, for a loss of another $11 million, Smith said.

Preparing for the worst-case-scenario, the school board has come up with a list of 26 potential budget cuts to help fill the deficit.

The school board finalized and prioritized the cuts on Jan. 29, as board members preparing to present the cuts to the public for feedback at Monday's hearing.

After the board's latest changes and revisions, the proposed cuts are organized in four tiers, with the board's least favorite cuts being placed in tier four, which board members called jokingly "over my dead body cuts."

Totaling about $4 million, tier four includes cuts that could raise the most public outcry and, according to the majority of board members, could cause most damage to students in the classroom: reducing class size by another 0.5 student ($2.3 million); eliminating swimming, freshman athletics, junior varsity sports and indoor track ($854,800); closing the Outdoor School program ($411,000), closing Sabillasville Elementary ($383,400); or reducing extracurricular activities ($259,000).

"We will bring all these to the public hearing, but the public needs to concentrate on tier one," said board vice president Michael E. Schaden.

Tier one features 13 potential budget cuts, totaling $8.5 million. The cuts include a sweeping reduction in central office staff (saving up to $2.5 million), eliminating the school system's annual budget contribution for retiree benefits ($1.5 million), eliminating the elementary Summer Success program ($881,000), and deferring some of the start-up costs for the new Oakdale High School ($792,000).

Tier two includes four reductions worth $1.6 million, including a possible $500,000 reduction in the school system's textbook replacement cycle, a 50 percent reduction in extended learning opportunities ($558,000) and a reduction in essential curriculum workshops for teachers ($308,000).

Tier three reductions total $2.8 million, featuring an increase in class size by 0.5 students ($2.3 million), as well as potential furlough day for all employees ($1.4 million) or a 1 percent salary reduction for all employees ($3 million). Both the salary reduction and the furlough day would have to be negotiated between the school system and its employee unions.

Parents and residents will have a chance to comment on the tiers at the hearing and board members are encouraging parents to let them know if they disagree with the board's priority order of the cuts, Smith said.

The school board is scheduled to finalize its budget request on Feb. 24, and send it to commissioners by March 1. Commissioners will hold a hearing on the school system's budget on May 4 and will set the school system's final allocation by June 1.

E-mail Margarita Raycheva at mraycheva@gazette.net.

Public hearing: 7:30 p.m., Monday, 7630 Hayward Road, Frederick.

Find the budget summary online: www.fcps.org/budget