For the second night this week, dozens of people expressed discontent with proposed budget cuts that could affect everything from state resource teachers to special education, from public charter schools to high school athletics.

While state Board of Education members deliberated on the budget cuts in the McKinley High School auditorium late into the evening, they also acknowledged that a decision needed to be made in order to meet today's deadline set by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Board members have been working under a tight schedule, meeting in a committee hearing Monday that lasted some 7 1/2 hours. That was the first time the BOE had discussed the budget reduction plan that the state Department of Education first released Sept. 24.

The full board was poised to make a decision on the plan late last night.

These are the most severe budget cuts that the DOE has faced in recent memory. The last time the DOE was asked to reduce its budget was back in the mid-1990s when the state faced a $350 million shortfall. In total, the DOE suffered $24 million in cuts.

In total, the proposed cuts make up slightly less than $46.5 million. That's 15 percent of the DOE's discretionary budget, but well short of the $69 million in cuts for a worst-case scenario budget plan that Lingle asked the DOE to create because of the state's declining tax revenues.

The DOE budget reduction plan includes cuts of 244 positions in state and district offices, but largely preserves school-level programs and staff.

The cuts are part of a request by Lingle that all state agencies come up with 10 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent budget-cut scenarios for their 2009-11 discretionary budget because the slowing economy has eroded state tax revenue.

The DOE already had cut about $20 million from its budget, including a $10.2 million cut by lawmakers in this year's Legislature. The BOE recently approved $9.3 million in budget cuts to meet 4 percent across-the-board reductions imposed by Lingle.

Included in the budget cuts is some $3 million for teacher recruitment and retention programs. The cut would affect about 36 resource teachers who administer programs such as alternative teacher training, educational assistance and professional development, or who work with special education teachers.

According to the plan, the reduction could greatly hurt the DOE's ability to comply with the state's Reinventing Education Act and the state's ability to meet federal requirements to reduce the number of nonhighly qualified teachers in the classroom.

The reduction also could hurt the DOE's ability to coordinate professional development programs to increase student performance in reading, math, science and social studies.

Despite a failed attempt to cut the public school athletics' budget in August, the DOE plans to cut about $800,000 for athletic equipment, supplies and transportation from the budget.

League directors across the state collaborated to figure out areas within the budget that could be trimmed, education officials said.

Also included in the budget reduction plan: