The district has planned for drastic cuts of $9.4 million in staff and programs for the 2003­04 school year. But Rowley says the cuts may not run quite so deep as proposed. "We remain guardedly optimistic that our worst-case scenario will not be seen," Rowley said at a public forum on April 2 at Lynbrook High School. More than 300 concerned parents, students and faculty members packed the school's auditorium.

The district held the forum to seek input from the community should the cuts be significantly less than $9 million. "We want to get a sense of where your priorities are," Rowley told the crowd.

Because the crowd was so large, attendees were divided into different rooms to discuss their concerns in smaller groups.

Rowley said afterward that he hoped the setup would allow everyone to speak. "We want to know what people are thinking about. I think for all of us, teaching and learning are our number-one priorities," Rowley said.

But those teaching positions shouldn't be saved at the expense of school staff, he said. "These are hard choices because you still need people to run the schools," said Rowley.

Martha Krow-Lucal, whose daughter goes to Homestead High School, said she hopes that class sizes will remain small. As a former Spanish teacher at the university level, Krow-Lucal says experience has taught her that language cannot be taught effectively to large groups.

Another concern for her was the proposed removal of the librarian positions. "Schools that have a trained librarian have higher literacy rates. Our renovated libraries with nobody in them to help students is a waste of a resource that is already paid for," Krow-Lucal said.

"Just giving them the technology and a room full of books doesn't work," she said.

Jennifer Kan, a concerned parent, said she hopes that the schools will continue to offer advanced classes in science and math to give students a competitive edge when applying for college.

Blakli Bragg, a senior at Monta Vista High, stressed the importance of music and theater programs. Her friend Cristina Ponce suggested cutting specialized physical education classes and holding integrated classes instead.

Kathryn McElwee, a science teacher and peer-counseling advisor at Monta Vista High, said she is disappointed that electives like the peer counseling program and leadership class are set to be cut. "Those courses appeal to kids who are not AP students. These are the future teachers and counselors, not the engineers," McElwee said.

When a student at Monta Vista died a few weeks ago, McElwee said, the peer counselors were available to talk to students, and they provided a needed service to the school community.

Rowley remains hopeful that some money will be returned to the district. In the meantime, he said, he will take the input back to the school board to assist in preparing a prioritized list of cuts.