The Selectmen and School Committee on Thursday reached an agreement on budget cuts to avoid a nearly $1.2 million budget deficit.

The resulting budget, to be presented to Town Meeting on June 18, will likely – among other things -- eliminate four full-time teaching positions and a handful of other staff positions in town schools, cut two patrol officers from the police force, whack library funding to below the level needed to maintain accreditation, and eliminate weekend beach cleanup.

Because the School Department's budget accounts for approximately 65% of the town's overall budget, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan proposed that the School Department absorb 65% of the deficit and the town deal with of 35%.

Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch and Sullivan compromised, and agreed on 63.5% on the school side and 36.5% on the general government side. Their respective boards concurred, but all agreed that the cuts -- approximately $663,140 and $381,170, respectively -- will hurt.

"This is a sad day," School Committee Chair Rhonda Veugen said after both boards took their respective votes. "All the cuts that we just made will have effects throughout this town."

Exactly where the money will be cut is not set in stone, but Sullivan and Rabinovitch each presented their proposals to the boards. Here's a recap.

General government proposals:

Approximately $231,680 could come from the Police Department, which would cut two patrolmen and one admin. The cut does away with the town's annual cruiser replacement program.

Nearly $107,200 may come from the library budget, which would end most programs, including the programs for teens and pre-teens.

"We realized that this cut is essentially devastating to the library," said Sullivan, as the town must give a certain percentage of money to the library in order for it to retain state certification.

Selectmen Chair Peter Teitelbaum said he and Selectman Alan Slavin have already reached out to the nonprofit supporters of the library to ask for help.

Approximately $50,300 will come out of the administration budget, which eliminates the financial analyst position previously filled by Sullivan before he was promoted to town administrator.

The assistant town accountant position was also cut, as under Sullivan's reorganization plan recently approved by Town Meeting, the position was eliminated to make way for a new finance director -- an upgrade of the treasurer/collector's position -- and the assistant was moved into the accountant's position.

Municipal Maintenance may suffer a cut of nearly $35,500, which would eliminate the snow plowing and grading of private roads, as well as eliminate weekend trash and beach cleanup, Sullivan said.

A combination of cuts of two part-time positions in the Assessor's Department and Harbormaster Department would save nearly $23,690.

"The question is, are we all in the same boat?" Sullivan asked. "The answer is 'yes.'"

School Department:

Rabinovitch proposed cuts of $130,000 from each of the two elementary schools and from Wareham Middle School, $250,000 from Wareham High School, and approximately $30,000 from the "central office," which includes the district's top administrators.

Proposed cuts include four half-time "interventionists," who provide extra help to students who need it, from Minot Forest Elementary; a kindergarten teacher and a fourth-grade teacher from John W. Decas Elementary, as well as a reduction in funds for maintenance supplies; a guidance counselor from Wareham Middle and $75,000 in cuts from non-instructional accounts; At the high school, a cut of an adjustment counselor/social worker, an art teacher, three clubs, three department heads, a part-time secretary, and a part-time teacher assistant. The athletic budgets will also be reduced, and a retiring social studies teacher will not be replaced.

"It's a perfect storm that's hit this town," said Teitelbaum, noting that a combination of the recession, a drop in property values, and a reduction in state aid have plagued the town in recent years. "I heard somebody talking about taking a scalpel to the town budget once. We're not doing that. We're taking a machete to it."

Veugen pointed out that the cuts to the town library will also affect Wareham students.

"It's unfortunate that there's another cut that is going to be affecting the children of Wareham," she said.

Slavin noted that the cutting is a "temporary stop-gap," as without increasing town revenue, both boards will be in the same position next year.

Veugen hoped that conversations about how to bring more money into the town could begin almost immediately.

"I don't want to talk about cuts anymore," she said. "I want to talk about the hope that we're not going to be here next year. ... You have an opportunity to change [the] course."

Both boards' votes on the deficit split were all in the affirmative, though Selectmen Steve Holmes was absent due to a family emergency and Patrick Tropeano was absent because he had a previous engagement.

The town's Finance Committee will weigh in on the budget next. Town Meeting voters, who were asked last month to delay a vote on the budget until the two boards could determine what to do about the deficit, will be asked to approve the final product when the meeting reconvenes on June 18.