J.D. Kerr says the Lawrence public school district should spend more money, not less, on students with disabilities.

Kerr, who works with boys living in group homes at O’Connell Youth Ranch southeast of Lawrence, said a proposal before the school board to cut the $13 million budget for special education would jeopardize the future of the district’s most vulnerable students.

“What they’re doing with these cuts is denying an education to special-needs kids,” he said.

Today the board will review a list of “probable” budget cuts that total $2.2 million. About $300,000 of the hit list would be drawn from special education, including deletion of the WRAP counseling program for at-risk children and dismissal of staff who work with students on their mental health, speech and autistic challenges.

In addition, the board will get a closer look at options for generating nearly $1 million with textbook, sports, activities, technology, facility rental and transportation fees. These fees wouldn’t apply to students in the federal free-lunch program.

An unusually large number of people are expected to attend the meeting at 7 p.m. today at district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive, to express their views about proposed budget adjustments.

Scott Morgan, the board’s vice president, said lobbying by parents, teachers and other staff about possible changes to the district’s budget was growing in intensity.

“It’s going to start getting uglier,” he said.

The board will likely make final decisions today on only $518,000 in cuts, Morgan said.

On the table: $279,000 in savings by changing secondary-school staffing, $212,000 in savings by dropping all-day kindergarten at five elementary schools, $26,000 by deleting a sign-language teaching job. Adjustments to the elementary staffing ratios will be considered, but there’s no projected savings from that part of the plan.

A long list of other adjustments given “probable” status last week by the school board will be reviewed, but won’t likely be voted on by the board until March 11. These include a pay-to-play sports and extracurricular activity program and a pay-to-ride bus system. Also generating interest are recommended cuts in elementary school counseling and nursing programs.

Public interest in the emerging 2002-2003 budget blueprint is bound to increase as the clock ticks closer to March 11, Morgan said.

“We’re at about $3 million, if what we have now holds, which I would be surprised if it did. Once we start to get beat up, there may be weaknesses.”

Supt. Randy Weseman has urged the school board to identify $5 million in budget cuts or revenue enhancements in anticipation that the 2002 Legislature won’t be generous with appropriations to public school districts.