Just a week after Augusta County Schools announce big budget cuts, Staunton City Schools are planning some of their own.

"Going into the meeting, we already knew there were going to be more budget cuts," says Staunton School Board member Sarah Crenshaw.

Monday night, the school board found out just how much those cuts would be. Superintendent Dr. Steve Nichols announced that the city expects $2.5 million to be cut out of the budget for the coming school year.

Crenshaw says the board has been in this situation before, but this is the worst she's seen.

She says, "We met this obstacle. We met it head on and we were able to defeat it and keep going."

Crenshaw says one major concern is layoffs to school employees. The school board made preparations last year to deal with the current economic climate. However, they now stand with nothing left to cut, and she says they will do all they can to avoid losing personnel.

Crenshaw adds, "We will try as hard as we can to look at other aspects and other ways to cut without affecting our personnel."

She says it's something the board plans to work on immediately.

"Now it's just a matter of us getting together as a board and discussing all of our different aspects that we have look at," says Crenshaw.

She also says she recognizes it's just part of the state's plan to conserve anywhere they can.

"Our instructions and directions come from the governor's office," adds Crenshaw. "So we, like everyone else, are being hit."

Nichols went over some potential places for cuts Monday that included athletic spending, school transportation, and a possible increase to employee premiums for benefits.