LEWISTON – State budget cuts will mean half-million-dollar losses to the area’s three largest school systems, according to numbers released Friday by the Maine Department of Education.

Statewide cuts in General Purpose Aid to Schools total $27 million for the fiscal year that began July 1 and ends June 30. The cuts are part of Gov. John Baldacci’s response to a recession that’s slowing spending and shrinking tax revenue. Another cut of $27 million in GPA is expected next year.

This year’s cuts could happen as soon as mid-January if approved by state legislators, Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said.

“My message to schools is they need to start making those cuts now,” she said.

In Lewiston, that will mean trimming $544,008; in Auburn, $461,328, and in Oxford Hills, $502,080.

To perhaps soften the blow, Gendron will review state mandates to see whether any can be scrapped without harming K-12 education.

The commissioner said she’ll receive a report in December of mandates that should be removed, considering the nation’s economic crisis.

“I’m more than willing to hear from superintendents about which ones should come off the books,” Gendron said Friday. “Superintendents with suggestions should please send them forward.”

In Jay, where the school department stands to lose $197,400, Superintendent Robert Wall had an idea: less data collection. The heavy volume of reports schools have to do for the state is time-consuming and requires office staff, he said.

“We’ll do our very best to identify cost savings without looking at personnel, but we may not be able to do that,” Wall said.

Oxford Hills (SAD 17) Superintendent Mark Eastman suggested eliminating mandates for gifted and talented fine arts programs and allowing schools the scheduling flexibility for things such as four-day weeks. “There’s savings to be had there,” he said.

In Lewiston, the 1.8 percent reduction in state aid will be significant, business manager Dean Flanagin said. Administrators will present specific recommendations to the School Committee on Dec. 8.

Lewiston schools have cut field trips and travel, and have reduced spending to essential purchases. Lewiston does have a carry-over account that could help, but Flanagin declined to say how much was in it.

Gendron said if she were still a superintendent she would look for cuts that didn’t affect classrooms. She’d eliminate field trips and hold off on buying new textbooks and other supplies. She’d suspend travel. She wouldn’t hire substitutes and instead use education technicians to cover for sick teachers. If that wasn’t enough, “then I’d start looking at staffing.”

Those cuts could mean larger classrooms, she said.

Kindergarten through grade two classes should have 18 or fewer pupils. “The research is clear that in early grades the lower class ratio does impact learning,” Gendron said. Research does not support the same kind of learning achievement from a lower student-teacher ratio in higher grades, she said.

Ideally, classes should have no more than 20 or 21 students, unless they’re specialized classes, such as science labs, where more staffing is needed for safety.

In some cases, classes could grow to 25 students, Gendron predicted. “I don’t think that’s ideal, but in light of these economic times” there’s little choice, she said.

Gendron was not overly concerned that the quality of education in Maine would suffer. Despite the cuts, the dedication of teachers and administrators will not change, she said.

“At the heart of education is the relationship with teachers and students in the classrooms,” Gendron said. “That is what’s most critical in students’ achieving.”

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