Gould said that the school board learns what the district is doing at the same time as the public, and she encouraged residents to attend the district’s public budget forum on March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Woodmere Education Center, at 1 Johnson Place. “At this point in time there are real challenges with every budget year,” she said, “and there will never not be challenges.”

Lawrence Superintendent Gary Schall said that the district is in the beginning stages of preparing a budget, and it is too early to determine how the increase in state aid will be spent, but he expects it will be used for instruction. “It will maintain academic programs,” he said. “We’re not trying to fill a budget hole by reducing programs.”

Asher Mansdorf, president of the Lawrence school board, echoed Schall, saying that the increase in state funding would be used to maintain programs. “Any funds that come into the system from outside the local neighborhood relieve the burden for those that live in the neighborhood,” he said, “and helps us to achieve the 2 percent tax cap without affecting programming.”

Lawrence’s budget increase will be at least $6.5 million, and with a projected revenue increase of $2.8 million, the district finds itself in a $3.7 million hole as it drafts a new plan, Schall said. But it may also generate additional revenue, with the school board having voted on Jan. 14 to sell the Number Six School, on Church Avenue in Woodmere, to Simone Development for $12.5 million, subject to residents’ approval.

“We have to look at big-ticket items,” Schall said. “We’re not going to get away with a simple reduction of a program or two. It requires major calculations. We’re looking at our clerical support, as we have about eight workers who will be retiring, so we’re looking at how we can redesign the clerical system as well as special education areas. Other than that, everything gets put on the table and scrutinized.”