With the town still needing to close a big gap between projected spending and projected revenue in next year's budget, a Jan. 15 public hearing on the proposed school budget had officials talking cuts.

But, while Selectmen and members of the School and Finance committees worried about more pennies -- and dollars -- to be pinched in fiscal year 2015, a large group of parents appeared at the hearing to complain about the potential effects of a planned cost-saving school reorganization plan.

Earlier this month, Superintendent of Schools Kimberly Shaver-Hood proposed closing the East Wareham Early Childhood Center and reconfiguring Minot Forest Elementary to house grades pre-K through 1 and Decas Elementary to handle Grades 2-4.

Along with staff and other cuts, that plan brought a projected school budget increase of 5.9 percent down to just 3 percent.

At last week's hearing, Selectman Alan Slavin said even that decrease may not be enough.

“We need to have a balanced budget,” Slavin said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to need to make cuts.”

Parents, however, expressed distress that some of their young children would need to be bused across town next year and that siblings who now go to the same elementary school would be split up.

Parents said they would next year have to pick up their children separately or drop them off at two different schools.

Shaver-Hood said there are about 70 families with children who would go to different schools.

“This process is ongoing,” she said. “We have said, ‘Let’s look at start times and configurations, and how that would fit together.' ”

“We’ve been looking at the routes," she added, "and we do not anticipate any route being over 40 minutes.”

Parents received less specific answers to their questions about which positions would be eliminated and who would be laid off as part of the superintendent's proposed 16 layoffs.

Both Selectman Peter Teitelbaum and School Committee member Cliff Sylvia cautioned that, because the budget is in the "proposed" stage, it could violate collective bargaining agreements to name names at this point.

“I don’t think you’re going to know until well into the summer of the finality of the cut process, but that’s the nature of the budget process,” said Sylvia. “We’re talking about programs and kids, and that is the guiding light as to who gets cut and why.”

The cuts will come from administrators, teachers, clerical, paraprofessionals and custodians, Shaver-Hood said. Together, she said the cuts would save the schools $662,038 next year.

While the joint Selectmen - School Committee - Finance Committee meeting and hearing was called to discuss the school budget, officials could not avoid talking about the larger town budget. School expenses historically make up about 65 percent of that total town budget.

Looking at the first versions of the town and school budgets, the town was looking at a $2.4 million gap between projected spending and projected revenue. Legally, the budget as presented to and approved by Town Meeting in the spring must be balanced.

“We haven’t had a chance to talk about town budget yet, but I think all of you should be aware of what the town is facing,” said Marilyn Donahue, Finance Committee vice chair. “Although you can vote for this school budget knowing it’s really not adequate or what we would all like to see in education, just know that it’s one part of the shortfall that this town is facing.”

As it stands, the school’s proposed budget is $27,704,474, a 3 percent increase from the 2014 budget. In its earlier stages, the budget totaled $28,469,721 – a 5.9 percent increase. At this time last year, the School Department was seeking a 7 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.

Donahue said there’s a lot of work to be done over the next few months, and that tough cuts will have to be made from the 2015 budget on both the town and school sides.

“Everyone in this town works hard, but we are ultimately only able to work with what we have,” said Francis "Larry" McDonald, Finance Committee chair. “If we don’t give more, then this what we get. And it’s sad, but that’s the reality of this. The voters are the ones that really control this.”

The budget will be voted on by the School Committee on Jan. 29.