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GREENSBORO — With less than a month before Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green is scheduled to present his budget proposal, it’s still unclear if he will recommend cutting more school jobs.

Green declined to talk about possible budget cuts this week: “At this point, I’m not at a place where I can talk about potential layoffs.”

Green said there is a possibility his budget will include tiers of proposed spending cuts similar to the plan developed last year.

Guilford County Schools saw a nearly $21.9 million reduction in funding last year. That led the school board to eliminate some teaching positions, but officials were able to find new jobs within the district for many of the teachers.

A state budget shortfall forced school districts to make deep cuts last year. The General Assembly approved a two-year budget last year, but it isn’t clear what adjustments might be made in the May session.

“We have great needs in public education, and we’re going to try to meet those needs as best we can,” state Sen. Don Vaughan said.

Vaughan, a Greensboro Democrat, sits on the Senate budget committee that oversees education. He said early indications are revenue will remain flat and the best the state will be able to do is hold education budgets where they are.

Still, other school districts are planning for more cuts.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is preparing for $80 million in budget cuts. Forsyth County school officials are expecting to cut $5.2 million .

Diminished county budgets likely will have a big impact on school districts as well. Last year, Guilford County commissioners cut $3 million from the school district’s requested budget. The maintenance budget bore the brunt of the cut, with the school district delaying repairs and upgrades.

A group of school board members and commissioners are meeting regularly to discuss the school district budget.

Commissioners said they’re trying to learn more about the school board’s budget process, but they also have questioned the school district’s spending.

The commissioners will expect more belt tightening from the district this year.

“I think we’ve already expressed our commitment to hold the line,” Commissioner Steve Arnold said .

The school district made several budget cuts last year but many of those were deferred spending rather than real cuts, Arnold said. He wants to see what more could be done.

School board Chairman Alan Duncan said a hold-the-line budget from either the state or the county has the effect of a budget cut because the school district is expected to grow.

Officials project 71,765 students will enroll in the fall, about 300 more students than this school year.

“I have concerns, particularly at state level, because the state has not prioritized K-12 education as highly as I think it should,” Duncan said.

Duncan declined to speculate on what cuts might be made during the budget process.

Although it isn’t clear if layoffs will happen, the district is taking steps if it comes to that. The school board is considering revisions to its reduction-in-force policy. The policy governs when and how employees are selected for layoffs. The proposed revisions would place less emphasis on seniority.

The Guilford County Association of Educators is resisting the proposal. It said officials need to look beyond employees to deal with budget needs.

“We just hope the cuts will not trickle down to the classroom,” said Tijuana Hayes , president of GCAE.

“Our goal is to advocate to find ways to raise revenue,” she said. “You reach a point where you just can’t continue to do more with less.”

The school board could vote on the reduction-in-force proposal next month. Green is scheduled to present his budget to the school board on April 6.

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