She added that the CTA is currently meeting with Peterkin to find ways of saving jobs, such as eliminating sabbaticals and using the freed finds of encourage early retirement.

Although five tenured positions could be lost, "It is my conviction that once we meet to discuss job saving techniques, we will eliminate that figure," Noonan-Forster said.

"We are actively looking for ways to reduce nontenured notices as mueli as we can," she added, saying that at most 10 nontenured people would be forced to leave.

Program Cutbacks

Budget cuts did force reductions in alternative programs at the high school, though they did not completely destroy any program, said Peterkin.

For example, the pilot school at Cambridge Ringe and Latin High Schoo, which puts 200 students in closer contact with teachers and counselors, lost a guidanmce counselor, said Koocher.

The pilot school currently has a student-to-guidance counselor ratio of 90 to one, compared to 200 to one for the rest of the system, he added.

The budget will also require some multigrading--combining two grades in one class--at the elementary level, but to a "much lesser extent" than anticipated, said Peterkin.

He added that no child will be forced to enter a multigraded classroom. But Koocher diagreed, saying that there might be a few instances where students would have no choice.

The budget now goes on to the City Council, which will almost certainly approve it, according to school officials.