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.

For the full report, read Wednesday's edition of The Citizen.