ARLINGTON — Superintendent Dr. Kris McDuffy had the most difficult eight months of her career this year, and it’s not getting any easier.

She is putting herself on the line this week, with three public forums for Arlington School District staff, parents and community to ask questions about proposed cuts in staff and other budget issues.

The first two sessions were Monday evening and Tuesday morning this week. The third and final forum is 1 p.m. Friday, May 22 at Haller Middle School Library.

May 15 was the state mandated deadline for notifying teachers to be cut and the district sent notices to 24 teachers that day. The cuts are widely distributed across the district, with seven from the high school including three counselors, five from Eagle Creek Elementary, four from Presidents, three from Trafton, two from Kent Prairie, two from Post Middle School and one from Pioneer Elementary School.

“We hope to be able to rehire some of them in fall, but that depends on enrollment figures,” McDuffy told The Arlington Times May 15.

The forums will include a budget update by McDuffy followed by an open Q&A session with the audience, said Misti Gilman, the district’s public information coordinator.

It’s not only teachers being riffed, however.

Two high level administrators are retiring this year and will not be replaced, making the 3.5 cuts in administration slightly more palatable. Assistant Superintendent Warren Hopkins and Arlington High School assistant principal Rob Patterman will retire in June, McDuffy said.

“Our numbers are comparable to districts our size. The enrollment numbers in March guided our decisions,” she added.

More cuts will be announced when the classified staff recommendations are delivered to the board of directors June 8. The goal is to cut another $750,000 through classified employees, which includes maintenance, school bus drivers and other non-educational staff.

More decisions about programs will wait until July.

“I am ordering a study on Trafton and Weston schools,” McDuffy said.

Athletics and extra curricular program directors have been asked to come up with 20 percent cuts.

The school district’s budget is 85 percent staff.

“We’ve cut back on paper and pencils as much as possible,” McDuffy said, adding that the district has been overstaffed on average and the cuts will make relatively little impact to class size.

“It’s hard to say anything about next year,” she said.

“No one predicted the bottom falling out.”