As parents and community leaders responded Thursday to draft plans by DeKalb County to save money by no longer busing students beyond their neighborhood schools, officials sorted through more bad funding news.

Marcus Turk, the DeKalb schools’ chief financial officer, told School Board members during a committee meeting that he expects the district to lose another $10.5 million in state funds this school year.

If that happens, austerity cuts in state education funding by May will have cost DeKalb more than $100 million since 2002. Turk said he also believes the state, given the economy, will cut another 1 percent of DeKalb’s school funding for the next school year.

Educators are scrambling to find ways to close the gap. For example, they say, the busing change alone would save the system $5.9 million a year.

Superintendent Crawford Lewis said he would also consider additional measures that could include a one-day-a-month furlough for some employees, four-day work weeks and reducing or closing the system’s pre-kindergarten program.

“We are not trying to hurt anybody,” Lewis said about what, at this point, are simply possibilities.

Based on the reaction to the busing plans at a community meeting Thursday night, system officials have some convincing to do.

“You’re saying the cuts will not affect children. Well, who rides the bus?” asked Angela Turner, whose children attend choice schools in DeKalb.

Turner was among about two dozen speakers. The crowd filled about two-thirds of Columbia High School’s auditorium. Several parents suggested only reducing service, with buses picking up children at central locations.

The move to end out-of-zone busing would affect about 5,600 of the district’s 99,600 students, including those who may be enrolled in magnet schools, charter schools and academic theme schools or who transferred from lower-performing campuses.

No other system in Georgia has as wide a range of magnet and choice schools or offers such extensive bus service. Now, officials say they can no longer afford such wide-ranging busing. Even outsiders agree it may be time to move on.

“Honestly, I did not think they would [cut back busing]…because of the high complaint factor,” said Grant Reppert, transportation director for Gwinnett County schools and a member of a task force DeKalb asked to look at its services. The task force completed its work over the summer.

“Every dime spent on transportation takes dollars out of the classroom,” Reppert said. “It is a balancing act, but the DeKalb balance has moved way too far to providing transportation at the expense of classroom dollars.”

System officials will hold at least three more parent meetings. A presentation to School Board members is expected Sept. 26. Though the board is not expected to vote on any changes until January, it was clear from comments Thursday they have not yet reached a consensus.

“It is time to look at doing things differently because the money situation is going to get worse before it gets better,” said Bebe Joyner, who leads the board’s budget committee. “The board has got to suck it up and decide what we can live without.”

Board member Zepora Roberts did want to stop service completely. “I have fought too long and too hard to make sure children have a right to these magnet and theme schools,” she said.

She, too, said the system should consider picking students up at central locations — as Cobb County does — and not provide door-to-door transportation, as DeKalb has done.