Superintendent John F. Howe chose to speak [at last night's school budget meeting] in general terms, emphasizing that the list of potential [staff] cuts (currently in circulation), can and will change, as he distributed an amended "draft" of that same list to members of the board, minutes before the matter formally came up on the agenda. While Howe said his plan will eliminate 52.5 jobs, he offered little of substance beyond the number. He did admit his plan was still $50,000 short of the $3.8 million mark. At the same time, Howe told the board it must be ready to "move to a resolution of this list" soon, because the district had to be administratively prepared for layoffs. In addition to the elimination of all modified sports and fields trips, Howe's proposal calls for the elimination of the New Employee Mentoring Opportunity (NEMO) Program, as well as the Alternative Learning Program. Howe acknowledged the plan will have an impact on class size. "It is bound to go up," he said. Howe said classes that now contain 18 to 19 students will increase to 23 or 24 students. Classes of 22 or 23 students will grow to 25 or 26.