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GREENSBORO — School will start Tuesday  for the majority of children in Guilford County and, after a summer of dreadful budget predictions, parents are not sure what to expect in the classroom.

“It’s probably the unknown that’s scary. We won’t know until we get back into the school what the impact to our school was,” said Lisa Russell,  a mother of three Guilford County students.

Guilford County received about $20 million  less than anticipated from the state this year. Despite that, most principals say impact to the classrooms is minimal.

“Things are not optimum,” said James McNeil,  principal at Florence Elementary . “But they’re going to be normal. We’re going to make them normal.”

The school board cut about half  of the $11.5 million  that principals use to purchase items ranging from paper and equipment to teachers and training. However, the better-than-anticipated state budget allocation allowed the school board to return most of that this month.

Principals spent the summer planning around that cut, resulting in  nearly 170 positions  eliminated and other cuts at schools. With the money returned, principals are deciding at the last minute how to spend it. Those decisions mean the budget impact at each school will likely be seen differently.

Unlike many schools, Florence Elementary lost no teachers during this summer’s budget cuts. McNeil said job cuts were avoided at his school because it was understaffed last year. He made cuts to staff training, supplies and tutoring, however.

Last year, McNeil paid for eight  tutors; this year, he can afford four . McNeil said he will make up the difference with community volunteers.

The budget cuts sparked lots of talk about school supply needs. Parents and others are pitching in. McNeil said new teachers at his school will receive $100  for supplies and returning teachers will get $75,  all of it donated by community members.

Principals say they  never turn down donations, but they don’t anticipate running out of supplies. They are sending home supply lists with students, but they say that’s no different than any other year.

At Grimsley High School, the budget cuts hit the popular “zero period,” which students used to squeeze in extra classes before regular classes started. Those offerings have been cut in half, which led to some schedule shuffling last week. Principal Anna Brady  hoped to add back some sessions by the time school starts Tuesday .

The school lost the equivalent of about five full-time positions, Brady said.

“If I had additional teachers, sure I’d be able to offer more,” she said.

Northern Guilford High made a similar cut.

The school system is set to have the equivalent of about 450  fewer full-time jobs  this year than last. Those   include positions  such as administrators and  bus drivers. The number could decrease as principals use the reallocated funding to hire teachers.

Northeast Guilford High Principal Anitra Walker  lost eight teaching positions over the summer, mostly because of a drop in enrollment. About 1,140 students  are expected at Northeast this fall, about 60  fewer than last year.

Walker hired one teacher when the school budget cuts were rolled back. Walker said she isn’t hoarding paper or wringing her hands over class size.

“We’ve not found that we’re in the position where we’re scrambling, trying to make sure needs are being met,” she said. “We’re comfortable. We’re good.”

But larger classes will be a reality for many schools.

Students can expect larger class sizes at Southern Guilford Middle , which as part of its budget cuts chose not to fill two new teacher positions that had been intended to help with an additional 50 students .

The restored money went to instructional supplies and hiring outside tutors rather than adding those teachers , said Principal Kevin Wheat.  He said the staff is “making it work.”

“It’s good that we have some local decision-making taking place,” he said. “Because it’s very different for each school.”

Staff writer Jennifer Fernandez contributed to this report.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com