A last-minute proposal to postpone school consolidation for one year provided a dramatic finish to weeks of public meetings about how to cut $6.8 million from next year's budget for the Santa Fe Public Schools.

Board member Barbara Gudwin on Thursday evening suggested delaying by one year plans to consolidate Kaune, Alvord and Larragoite elementary schools and to begin sending the 170 students at Acequia Madre to nearby Atalaya Elementary.

She suggested using $1 million from the district's cash reserves to cover the cost of the delay.

That drew an "Oh, my God," from board member Angélica Ruiz and later a stern warning from Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez.

Gutierrez said she would "reluctantly" go along with the idea although it made her "nervous" because cash reserves ensure that the district meets its payroll. "We're getting out on a limb," she cautioned.

In the end, the superintendent's passionate concern about drawing down the cash reserves convinced Gudwin that although her idea was a "righteous" one, it wasn't entirely the right one.

Later, she joined Frank Montaño, Mary Ellen Gonzales and Ruiz in a compromise.

The board recommended the district go ahead this year with a plan to consolidate Kaune, Alvord and Larragoite at the old Alameda Middle School, but postpone the plan to move students from Acequia Madre to a future K-8 school at Atalaya to allow more planning time.

The decision will result in nearly a $1 million savings, according to the district's deputy superintendent Mel Morgan.

After making the consolidation decision, board members tried to come up with other savings.

Finally, after 5 1/2 hours, Morgan announced, "Your budget is balanced with a reduction of $6.8 million."

In addition to the compromise on consolidation, a majority of the board agreed to increase class size to between 22 and 27 students, depending on the grade, for a savings of $2.7 million.

Staff reductions added up to more than $600,000. The board cut middle school sports by $100,000 and fine arts by more than $200,000. Special education was reduced by $325,000.

The district will be dipping into cash reserves for $703,000 next year, but some of that will be repaid when the board receives payments from the city for property in the Northwest Quadrant totaling $560,000.

The district also will be eliminating some double dippers (RTW, or return to work employees) including those who have not yet regained tenure.

Salaries of the superintendent and her staff were reduced by 2 percent. The board agreed to a proposal under which administrators would teach classes once every two weeks and eliminated both its own per diem ($85 a meeting) and travel.

The final vote on the budget is scheduled for May 6.

More than 40 residents addressed the board before staff began adding up their red (no) and green (yes) dots stuck to sheets of paper listing various budget-cutting measures.

Many of them spoke on behalf of small schools, but to the surprise of board members, a number of Acequia Madre supporters, including attorney Karl Sommer, spoke in favor of the consolidation with Atalaya a year from now in what will ultimately become a K-8 school.

During her comments on the proposal, Gutierrez cautioned them that the issue of consolidation was now off the table.

If she supported the delay, she said, "You cannot back out of this. If you do, you will put 13,000 students at risk. I really need you to understand this. I don't want to hear about this next year."

She repeatedly warned that more cuts were coming from the Legislature and implored concerned parents and teachers to let their representatives know how they feel about education. "The worst is not over," she said.

Gutierrez got a standing ovation when she left the room after those remarks.

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.

Santa Fe Board of Education budget recommendations

Supplies (executive team) $4,900

Staff reductions $637,444

RTW (return to work) $139,764

Executive team, 2% salary reduction $8,076

Increase class size $2.7 million

Board per diem/ travel $30,270

State assessment waiver $216,650

Middle school athletics redesign $100,000

Administrators substitute teach $150,000

Cash reserves $703,000

Northwest Quadrant payments $560,000

Fine arts cuts $200,800

Special education cuts $325,000

Student wellness $42,648

School consolidation $982,000