BOISE -- As a reading specialist at Morley Nelson Elementary School, Becky Gibson worries her program could fall to the budget knife as lawmakers eye further cuts to education.

"If my program is cut, that would be one less person to work with kids, a specialized person, to teach them how to read," she said, adding there's been no definite decision where to cut costs yet.

But state leaders, including House Speaker Lawerence Denney, say balancing the 2011 state budget won't be possible without additional cuts in schools.

And Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna says most school districts haven't felt the full impact of the cuts mandated by the 2009 legislature because by law, the districts must first deplete their reserves before enacting the cuts.

He says teacher salaries, typically around 80 percent of a district's budget, are almost certain to be reduced.

The 2009 legislature cut public education by $60 million and Luna says if the budget is cut by more than that in the 2010 session, student achievement will suffer.

So two months before the 2010 Legislature, the session's bitter tenor is already set: Public education is almost certain to be slashed for a second year and some state agencies now scrimping to get by could be eliminated altogether.

Gov. Butch Otter Wednesday also ruled out an income tax increase, including a hike on those earning more than $50,000.

Otter told the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho annual conference in Boise, "I'm resisting the effort to start class warfare."

In 2010, Otter is considering privatizing some services, could
sell Idaho government-owned real estate and may eliminate entire
agencies and departments, if that's what it takes to save money.

Becky Gibson says she and her colleagues in education know tough economic challenges lie ahead, but all they can do now is stay focused on the children.

"We're mainly concerned that we have enough people to staff the schools adequately to teach the kids we have," she said.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)