AUBURN – Spending on the city’s schools and the pinch of rising property taxes dominated talk Tuesday as city leaders met with folks from the southern center of the city.

City employees and elected officials outnumbered the dozen or so members of the public who weathered falling sleet to attend the Ward 4 meeting at Fairview Elementary School.

“We’re here to listen to you,” Mayor John Jenkins said. He then heard passionate remarks on both sides of the school spending issue.

Some people worried that spending in the city, particularly for schools, might be more than taxpayers can afford. Others worried that education was getting too little of the money being collected.

“I am very concerned about the direction of the schools,” said Larry Gordon, a parent and a teacher at Edward Little High School. “Class sizes are creeping up.” Programs and teaching positions have been cut. And efforts to shrink the pool of four assistant principals at the high school are short-sighted, he said.

“They’re preventing things from happening,” Gordon said. “They don’t wait for things to get in the schools.”

Gordon, who teaches graphic arts, worries that well-liked elective courses like his own might be a casualty of more cuts, he said.

Other teachers who attended the meeting also spoke out in favor of added education spending. Lisa Whitman, a parent and a math teacher at the high school, said a greater share of city money ought to go to schools.

She questioned whether education is “a top priority” among leaders.

The city budget for the coming fiscal year, beginning on July 1, will be worked out over the next few months.

This year’s $17 million school budget represents about a 3 percent boost in expenditures over last year. However, even as spending rose a little, the amount of money that came from Auburn taxpayers dropped.

For some, the math led to more questions.

“We have more money and less programs. Why is that happening?” asked Ward 4 resident Tom Doughty. “It’s kind of schizophrenic.”

Superintendent Tom Morrill explained that costs for fuel and health insurance rose faster than the budget, forcing the cuts.

Too many people make too little money to meet the demands, Doughty said.

“My taxes doubled, and I’m on a fixed income,” he said.

The superintendent was joined at the meeting by many city leaders, including police Chief Phil Crowell, Public Works Director Robert Belz, City Clerk Mary Lou Magno and interim City Manager Laurie Smith.

The Ward 3 meeting, originally scheduled for Feb. 26, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Auburn Public Library.