Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

A second-grader fills out a written test about nutrition at Belview Elementary School.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Let the number crunching begin.

If Gov. Tim Kaine's proposed $300 million in K-12 education budget reductions are approved, Montgomery County's schools would need to eliminate the equivalent of 105 support positions by 2010, according to figures presented to the school board Tuesday.

According to the figures, the schools have nearly 287 support staff positions, or the equivalent hours. Those include clerical workers, custodians, nurses and administrative spots not tied to classroom instruction.

The state uses a formula to fund the support positions based on the number of students enrolled as well what is called Standards of Quality. The state funds all but one of the positions in Montgomery County.

If the General Assembly approves the proposed cuts, the county would be left with fewer than 182 support positions funded through the state's formula -- at a total of $6.3 million.

The cuts would also mean about 54 lost positions in Pulaski County, 29 in Giles County, 22 in Floyd County and 16 in the city of Radford, according to the Virginia Association of Counties.

Board members said they don't want to initiate layoffs but rather lose the jobs through attrition, which means employees would leave the county and their spots would become vacant.

"People are talking about layoffs," said board member Wat Hopkins.

He told board members he doesn't want to strip anyone of a job.

"I want to say if someone is working for Montgomery County Public Schools this year, that they will be next year," he said.

To help stave off layoffs, the board will start looking at ways to keep its 2009-10 operating budget lean before presenting it to the Montgomery Board of Supervisors in February.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Tiffany Anderson will present the board with a list of potential spending cuts and the board will work on the spending plan in two to three separate meetings.

"You can see we have work cut out for us," Assistant Superintendent Walt Shannon said Tuesday.

That's in part because school employees' initial budget requests -- including pay raises, computer replacement, new teachers, new custodians and security measures -- total $10.7 million more than last year, according to figures he provided the school board.

However, the county school system is facing $3.9 million in cuts from Virginia's public education budget.

With those figures in mind, the school board's budget cycle will be different from in years past.

Typically during January, employee groups are gearing to ask the school board for their respective pay raises. But those wishes aren't likely to be granted this time around.

"The reality of it is it's pretty difficult to look at doing any salary increases with funding this tight," Shannon said.