SAN MARCOS — More than 100 parents, educators and students gathered April 18 at the County Regional Education Center in San Marcos as part of school board-organized, countywide rally against expected funding cuts.

On Jan. 10, facing a $12 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a 10 percent cut in funding across the board for every department in the state of California. Since then, the shortfall has grown to $16 billion.

This May, the governor will submit a fine-tuned budget proposal to the legislature for consideration. The recent protest was an attempt to sway the governor and state legislators before the cuts are etched in stone.

“We’re not going to be able to balance this budget with cuts only,” said Mary Borevitz, San Marcos school board president. “I think 10 percent across the board is an ill-conceived idea. ... It looks like everyone takes part of the pain but cutting kids is not the same as cutting prisoners’ health care.”

Carlsbad’s school district is looking at $4.5 million in cuts if the current plans go through. “We’ve issued lay-off notices, we have programs at risk, class-size reduction might go,” said Kelli Moors, Carlsbad school board trustee.

The proposed cuts will impact San Marcos Unified School District significantly. The number of counselors and nurses at each school is being reduced and retiring teachers are not being replaced. At the city’s newest high school, Mission Hills, class sizes are increasing from 31 to 36 students.

“I was really shocked when I first heard about it,” said Anthonia Edgren, Mission Hills ASB president.

“(The cuts also hurt) a lot of the elementary schools and middle schools because they’re cutting the bus system and getting rid of all the librarians, getting rid of P.E. The things I remember having aren’t going to be there anymore,” Edgren said.

San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond minced no words in his criticism of the cuts, describing them as “despicable.”

“The city council of the city of San Marcos strongly urges the governor and the state legislature to resolve the budget deficit by fixing the ongoing structural deficit with sound solutions, and not on the back of students, the education community or local governments,” Desmond said, reading from a City Council resolution passed April 8.

These impassioned voices do not appear to be falling on deaf ears. The 74th District State Assemblyman, Martin Garrick, is working on a number of measures to mitigate the funding crisis. One proposal involves freeing up maintenance reserves for other purposes. Another would reduce the number of spending categories from 63 to seven allowing for more flexibility at the local level.

“It’ll be far less than 10 percent when it comes down to reductions, although remember we have a budget of $130 billion,” Garrick said. “We’re looking at prioritizing. School is a great priority. So is public safety. (We are) looking at these issues first as far as minimizing the cuts.”

“Whenever the people speak and identify what their concerns are, it’s my job to listen and to act,” he added.