SAM DEAN The Roanoke Times

Community members attend a budget session Thursday for Bedford city and county schools, which are facing millions in cuts because of state proposals.

BEDFORD -- In a possible sign of things to come for school divisions statewide, Bedford County school officials are facing a revolt from parents upset about the drastic measures being proposed to cope with massive state budget cuts.

Hundreds of parents swamped a Wednesday meeting at Thaxton Elementary School to protest a proposal to shut the school, and two dozen more attended a school board budget workshop Thursday night. At that meeting, board members discussed curtailing summer school and field trips and charging students for extracurricular activities.

The board had begun working to cut about $5 million in expenses for next fiscal year even before the latest budget bomb dropped in the form of a proposal by Gov. Bob McDonnell to cut state support for public education $730 million over two years. McDonnell's cuts would come on top of the $1.2 billion in K-12 cuts Gov. Tim Kaine proposed before leaving office.

With state revenues for schools evaporating, the coming spring promises to be tense on the education front as school boards statewide talk of shuttering schools, shedding teachers, slashing programs and making do with less.

In Bedford, the shortage of money is already causing discord. Valerie Detamore, president of the Thaxton PTA, said the board should not close any schools but should instead make smaller cuts in all areas. "If they can cut a little bit from a lot, they can come up with the same amount of savings."

But Superintendent Douglas Schuch warned that McDonnell's proposal might force the board to look for even more areas to cut. "We may need to cut deeper to make the budget this year," he said. Schuch had already proposed eliminating 124 full-time positions and closing two elementary schools, Thaxton and Body Camp.

"We've got to look at everything," summed up school board Chairwoman Debbie Hoback.

Virginia School Boards Association Executive Director Frank Barham warned that tens of thousands of teachers could lose their jobs if McDonnell's proposal becomes part of the biennial budget.

Last week McDonnell also proposed to lift Kaine's proposed freeze on the local composite index, the formula that ultimately determines how much the state gives each locality for education. While McDonnell's proposal would steer more money to Northern Virginia, most localities would lose money. The biggest loser in the Roanoke region is Bedford County, which stands to lose $3.5 million over the next two years.

The $730 million in cuts McDonnell unveiled Wednesday would mean about $10.1 million less in state aid for Roanoke County, according to funding estimates provided by the Virginia Education Association.

"We are devastated," said Roanoke County Superintendent Lorraine Lange. "In the past, we have been able to shield the classroom, but there is no way when the majority of the budget is personnel that we are not going to have to lay off some teachers."

The county schools employ more than 1,050 full-time teachers, who earn an average salary of $43,318.

The Virginia Education Association projects Roanoke's public schools stand to lose $10.3 million in state funding in the next two years. School board Chairman David Carson said the cuts would be a tough blow to a division that already has closed four schools, privatized transportation, overhauled attendance zones, frozen teachers' salaries and reduced staff by 88 positions.

"We have cut the fat out of this system, and we are now into the bone," Carson said. "The question that remains is, how much bone will the state force us to cut?" Twenty-four of the city's 25 schools met standards for state accreditation -- the highest number in the division's history. Carson said he fears the fiscal impact will impede progress.

A Roanoke schools spokeswoman did not respond Thursday to a request for an interview.

In Montgomery County, which stands to lose about $6.7 million and is already facing about a $5.5 million reduction from its previous budget, school officials have been too busy dealing with fallout from the collapse of the Blacksburg High School gymnasium roof to examine the latest impacts, said interim Superintendent Walt Shannon.

Franklin County Superintendent Charles Lackey said the division faces a deficit of more than $9 million over the next two years. Like districts across the state, McDonnell's latest round of proposed cuts exacerbated an already grim fiscal outlook.

"It makes me wonder if the governor really values K-12 education," Lackey said.

Staff writers Anna Mallory and Janelle Rucker contributed to this report.