MARIETTA - Following a budget update at the Cobb County School Board's work session on Wednesday, Superintendent Fred Sanderson said his staff and the board are working on a preliminary plan for budget cuts that will likely include increasing class sizes and cutting teaching positions.

Although the superintendent and board members have been talking in rather general terms about plans for cuts, Sanderson did elaborate a bit more on the district's plan to balance the fiscal year 2011 budget. However, he said his office is still waiting on the state legislature for more conclusive numbers.

He also confirmed that the district does not plan to close any schools at this time, unlike proposals that have been made by DeKalb County Schools. Sanderson said, currently, the district has too many students and too few schools to recommend closures.

"I don't think we're behind at all," he said. "You know, obviously, we've been working on this for a long time, and some ideas, we're trying to wait for some real numbers to come forward," Sanderson said. "I think the safest thing to say is everything's on the table at this point. We're still analyzing some of the things that we want to try to prioritize. Trying to preserve the instructional classroom is my priority on this, but the fiscal reality is what it is."

At Wednesday's meeting, Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison gave the board his monthly budget update, reporting that the deficit for the upcoming FY11 budget will likely be closer to $100 million.

Since talk of the budget deficit began, officials have been advertising that the shortfall would likely be between $60 million and $100 million, but couldn't make any conclusive statements since they were still waiting for the state legislature to vote on its FY11 budget.

Sanderson said he and his team were able to hone in on the $100 million number, "based on information coming out of the Capitol and what they're looking at, and looking at the reduction in revenues for the state and the reduction that we've heard from our local property taxes."

Board Chairwoman Lynnda Crowder-Eagle asked Addison during the meeting how he and his staff plan to deal with the budget shortfall, but Addison and Sanderson still did not provide the board with any specific ideas or cuts.

The rest of the board members stated concerns about making sure the public understands the issues of funding from the state and what and how much has been cut, especially in FY10. Dr. John Abraham asked district officials to put together a more comprehensive and precise explanation of what exactly QBE and austerity cuts mean. Holli Cash agreed that she would work with Addison and his staff to explain the state's technical terms in a more relatable way.

Also Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gordon Pritz provided a detailed report on school population versus capacity numbers. Pritz's report included district maps that grouped schools by elementary, middle and high. Board member Alison Bartlett proposed that the maps be posted in each school throughout the district to educate parents about the need for strategic redistricting in some areas.

Dr. Steven Constantino presented the board with his executive report on Leadership and Learning, highlighting how schools in the district are implementing their own strategic plans. Constantino said he has heard a recurring concern that the district is focusing too much on testing. In his report to the board, he asked that members consider changing some local testing requirements, and look to principals and teachers to make the decision on whether these assessments are needed.

Doug Shepard, the district's special purpose local option sales tax oversight officer, talked about the implementation of a new software system that will help coordinate all of the district's construction projects. He said the district plans to put out a bid for the software project next week. When Bartlett asked Shepard how much the software would cost, Shepard was reluctant to answer, saying he didn't want to jeopardize potential bids.