At a meeting tonight, the Roanoke School Board is scheduled to discuss a list of proposed cuts to balance its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Closing Round Hill Primary Montessori School surfaced on the list, which is posted on the school division's Web site. Under the five-scenario budget proposal, closing the school may become a possibility at the $10 million deficit mark.

School officials initially anticipated a shortfall of between $11 million and $15 million next fiscal year. But the deficit may be lower, based on the budget presentation prepared for tonight's meeting that indicates school officials expect a gap between $6 million and $13.8 million. Closing a school has been on the board's radar since a retreat earlier this year, but no specific school had been identified.

City Councilwoman Anita Price, who also is a guidance counselor at Round Hill, found out about the potential closure Monday afternoon and said she was shocked.

"We are all kind of cognizant that every possible scenario is on the table. Whether it will come to fruition, that remains to be seen," she said.

Shuttering the Northwest Roanoke school could save the division about $800,000 next year. And the proposal comes one year after the division made the unpopular decisions to close two schools and repurpose two others.

Raleigh Court elementary and William Ruffner middle schools were closed, and Fishburn Park Elementary and Oakland Intermediate were put to other uses. The students from Oakland (third through fifth grades) were transferred to Preston Park Elementary, which formerly was a grade school for students in kindergarten through second grade.

About 300 students in preschool through second grade were enrolled at Round Hill as of Sept. 30, according to a state Department of Education report. A possible solution is to transfer the Round Hill students to nearby Huff Lane Intermediate School.

"We have made no final decisions to try and address the revenue shortfall that the state is largely passing on to us," school board Chairman David Carson said.

Curt Baker, the division's deputy superintendent for operations, suggested to the board at a work session last month that it may need to consider creative ways to come up with capital funding because, he said, city officials have indicated they may not be able to take on additional debt service. At that work session, rezoning and selling Round Hill were discussed, and school board members advised the board's attorney to enter discussions regarding how the Huff Lane, Round Hill and central administration properties fit into the city's comprehensive plan if the educational use of the facilities ceases.

The budget scenarios are slated to be presented to the school board at 7 p.m. tonight at William Fleming High School. The school board is expected to adopt a preliminary categorical budget on Monday.