The meeting at 7:30 a.m. was called to address the building contract awarded by a bidding process to Newtek Construction Inc. that will modernize classroom wings 100­300 at Saratoga High School. The board quickly and unanimously approved the award of the contract to the construction company, whose bid was the lowest, to complete the project at $2,221,000.

The board members could have waited to vote on the issue until their 6:30 p.m. meeting Aug. 5, to be held at the Saratoga High School Library—the first official board meeting of the school year. But Renee Keane, assistant of building projects for the district, said it would have caused a two-week delay in the start of construction.

District Superintendent Cindy Ranii said the project is related to annual objectives addressed in the district's strategic plan for 2003­06. The plan includes focusing on fiscal challenges, since the district is in the midst of a hiring freeze of classified/administrative staff as well as exploring the possibility of a parcel tax.

The strategic plan also focuses on sharing services with other schools, encouraging students to relate classroom learning to the outside world and celebrating the joy of learning.

Ranii said a poll will be taken in September to see if there is enough community support for a parcel tax, which would mean that everyone owning a parcel or piece of land in the district would have a tax added to their property taxes that would generate more funding for the district.

Due to the state budget crisis, Ranii said they are anticipating a state loss of funds, including $125 per student and an estimated $300,000 in monies for special projects. While no programs have been eliminated, the scope of what those programs offer has been reduced. Ranii said they'll know more once the state budget has been passed.

Ranii said 10 teaching positions, eight clerical/classified positions and two administrative positions have been cut.

"Our biggest challenge is how to maintain current quality with reduced revenue," she said.

In the first four years of her seven years as superintendent, Ranii said, the strong economy allowed the district to recruit and retain a highly trained staff while keeping their salaries competitive.

"We were in the enviable position of being able to expand services and reduce class sizes," she said. "With the downturn in the economy, those luxuries are gone. Our focus now is maintaining salaries."

Ranii said teachers will face the obstacle of providing top-quality standards as well as excellence in curriculum and instruction with fewer resources.

"We can't do the impossible," Ranii said. "We can only reduce so far."

Ranii said she hopes the district never deteriorates below the level of education this community expects. While classrooms may become strained with teachers taking on more students, Ranii stressed that the core of learning is the teacher-to-student relationship.

"We can't lose sight of the kids who are here to learn," Ranii said. "When money is tight, it's more of a challenge."