The Renton School District will have $2.7 million cut from its 2011-2012 school budget and lose an additional $1.5 million in federal stimulus money, following the approval of the state budget by the  Legislature this week.

No teaching positions will be cut, in contrast to what’s happening in other parts of the region and country.

The cuts mean two administrative positions may not be filled and possible bigger classes in the kindergarten through third grades.

However, at least one program – the gifted program – might be saved.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has yet to sign the budget.

After nearly seven months of examining different budget scenarios, six community meetings and polls to tap public input and waiting to hear back from the state House and Senate, the end is nearly in sight for the Renton School District and their budget process.

The school board was in all-day budget meetings Wednesday going over what legislators have laid out, which includes a 1.9 percent reduction in teacher pay and a 3 percent reduction in administrative pay.

At Wednesday night’s school board meeting, Renton Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel said she doesn’t believe that legislators met their paramount duty to serve students.

Heuschel has had to cut in excess of $22 million from a budget that ranges from $132 to $135 million in the last five years, she said in an interview on Thursday.

“There’s nothing left to cut; we’re down to the bare bones,” Heuschel said.

The cuts are devastating to basic education as lawmakers expect more to be done in the 180-day school year by paying teachers less, she said.

She calls it appalling that legislators allow for increased class sizes in kindergarten through third grades, eliminating support of early learning.

Back in April the district conducted a poll asking the public which they would rather cut – school programs or school days. Nine-five percent responded that they would rather cut school days.

That option, to cut the school days, is no longer on the table as the House bill that would have reduced school days did not pass.

Although both options were devastating, Heuschel said “our kids need more instructional time, not less.”

At Wednesday’s board meeting, Board President Al Talley said up until now they have been preparing for the worst-case scenario of the House and Senate proposed budgets and they will now have to go back and re-evaluate the district budget.

The next move will involve the district siting down with the teachers’ unions to negotiate pay cuts, something Heuschel says will be challenging.

The school district will be able to use money it put in its fund balance, like a savings balance, toward teachers salaries and programs. The district has achieved its goal of a 4 percent fund balance.

The district is also looking at reconfiguring former managerial positions, making them more administrative as people retire from their positions.

Teachers being laid off would have been notified by May 15, but there were no cuts to teaching staff.

Schools will also continue its conservative spending habits, spending 25 percent of their budget each quarter, so that there is a greater chance they will have some money left to work with in the end, said Randy Matheson, district spokesperson.

Depending on how the bargaining goes, there is a likelihood that the district won’t have to cut the Discovery or gifted program, he said.

There was never a definite list of what programs might get cut because there was a $2 million difference between the House and Senate budget proposals, Matheson said.

The school board will draft proposals for the 2011-2012 budget in July and make it official in August.