Most school districts across Flathead County have barely begun building next year’s budgets, but many district clerks already are apprehensive.

Tight budgets are going to be even tighter next year, and several schools are facing deficits.

“This, I think, is going to be my hardest year” to build a budget, Bigfork School District Clerk Eda Taylor said.

Bigfork doesn’t yet have its projected 2010-11 budget, Taylor said, but the school district is bracing itself for potential cuts. This year’s budget is $2.9 million in the elementary district and $2.4 million in the high school district.

“There are definitely deficits” in next year’s budget, Taylor said. “We have told the principals to look at programs” that could be trimmed.

Administrators and trustees don’t yet know whether cuts might happen in programs or personnel, Taylor added quickly. Final budget numbers won’t be available until after school enrollment is calculated in February.

Student enrollment determines how much money a school district receives from the state. Bigfork’s enrollment is up slightly from last fall in the elementary district, with 486 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. High school enrollment is down, from 312 last fall to 288 this year.

School districts will receive their budget information from the state Office of Public Instruction in March, after spring enrollment is counted.

“The budget deficit we think we will see when budget numbers come out are big enough to effect programs and staffing,” Taylor said.

The Whitefish School District expects to be in a similar position, although budget numbers aren’t yet available, district Clerk Danelle Reisch said.

“It’s fairly safe to say that we have concerns,” she said.

The biggest concerns are in the high school district, Reisch added.

“We’ve had enrollment declines at the elementary level for several years, and they’ve hit the high school,” she said.

With 1,130 students in October, elementary enrollment is up this fall from last year’s 1,096 students. But there are 40 fewer students at the high school this fall than there were a year ago. High school enrollment was 551 students in October.

Because Whitefish’s enrollment is declining, the school district has the option of adopting the same budget it had this year, even if that figure exceeds the state-mandated budget cap, Reisch said.

That means Whitefish could have a high school budget of a little more than $4.6 million and a nearly $7 million elementary budget.

Figures are more concrete in the Columbia Falls School District. At a recent school board meeting, Superintendent Michael Nicosia projected shortfalls of $200,000 to $225,000 in the high school district and $265,000 to $320,000 at the elementary level.

Nicosia could not be reached for comment.

Columbia Falls has endured declining enrollment over the years, and this year the pattern continued. There were 1,518 elementary students enrolled in October, down from 1,563 last year. High school enrollment was down nearly 50 students from a year ago, with 782 students at the school this fall.

As enrollment declines, schools receive less money from the state for their general fund budgets. But declines don’t often happen conveniently in one classroom or grade, so schools can’t easily eliminate programs or personnel. Districts have to find ways to provide the same services with less funding — or make cuts.

School districts’ biggest expenses are their employees. Salaries and benefits make up about 85 percent of Bigfork’s budget, Taylor said.

Because the organization is so people-heavy, cuts often happen in personnel when times get tough, she said.

“Every year you hear about big schools ... saying, ‘We’ve got to cut staff members,’” she said. “As Russ [Kinzer, the district superintendent] has said for many years, ‘If you have a major deficit, you can’t fix it by cutting pencils and paper out of the budget.’”

Bigfork hasn’t yet had to lay off anyone, although it has left some positions vacant after employees retired, Taylor said. The district also saved a little money this year when the teachers’ union agreed to not take a raise on their base salaries.

Other districts negotiated pay raises that were smaller than in past years. Whitefish teachers received a 2 percent raise on the base. Columbia Falls’ staff negotiated 1.5 percent raises.

If districts can’t make enough cuts to eliminate their deficits, many will turn to taxpayers for help. School boards will decide by late March whether to hold levy elections.

Until then, boards and administrators will continue to wrestle with the numbers.

“That process is going to take a while,” Taylor said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com