SANDPOINT - Lake Pend Oreille School District Supt. Dick Cvitanich and Brian Smith, local teachers union representative, are making the rounds to area schools related to positions that will be cut beginning July 1.

The district has started the difficult process of eliminating 33 positions around the district - almost half of those positions are held by teachers. Several also are held by administrators, including principals.

School board trustees had the difficult task of approving the cuts at the March 11 board meeting.

Officials are responding to a worst-case scenario that could mean the district will receive $2 million plus less in funding from state and federal sources for the 2008-'09 school year.

Part of the funding decrease is related to an ongoing drop in student enrollment - including a decrease of 100 students this school year.

The district faces a number of unknowns related to revenue and expenses. It may be facing increases in its health insurance premiums, but will not know anything different until later in April. The other unknown is related to teacher contract negotiations, which have just started.

To facilitate that budget tightening process, LPOSD and the teacher's union early on began asking educators to notify the district if they planned on retiring before the next school year.

With this approach, the district hopes to keep some of its junior teachers. The decision made so that people have plenty opportunity to look for other jobs, said Supt. Dick Cvitanich at the March meeting.

Eight educators also were given the option of taking an early retirement buyout.

Nine teachers have taken the offer which is equal to eight full-time positions.

Eleven certificated employees request for retirement was approved at the March 11 meeting.

Retiring include: Jackie DeWitt, John Rorke, James Wandler, Sharon Nale, Grant Hillen, Marguerite Vandersloot, Bonnie Herrington, Billie Jo Biddle, Angela Olmstead, Steve Johnson and Marlene Rorke.