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RALEIGH – Protect teachers in the classrooms, but some other school system employees will lose their jobs. That's the grim reality the Wake County School System is facing in the fall.

Tuesday afternoon, Wake Schools Superintendent Tony Tata presented his budget recommendations for next fiscal year to the school board. It's asking County commissioners for the same amount of funding as last year and assuming a five-percent cut, or about $40 million dollars in state funding.

Tata's priorities are to protect teachers in the classrooms, help struggling schools with additional funding and programs and operate the entire school system more efficiently.

The bad news: the proposed budget cuts more than 200 clerical, central administration, and assistant principal positions. Under his budget proposal, he would maintain the ratio of teachers to students. Even lowering it for class sizes in grades four and five.

Some of the new programs he's funding include a foreign language program for every middle school, additional funding to adequately staff under-enrolled elementary schools and creating new international or technology programs at ten schools.

“It's a tough story and we're having to layoff some folks,” said Tata. “But we are protecting children and teachers and classrooms. So there's a trade off there. It's certainly nothing to celebrate.”

Even though the cuts have been expected, many were relieved that Tata and budget writers were able to keep cuts out of the classroom.

"Mr. Tata's three directives were to: one, protect the classroom, protect teachers. Two, make all schools attractive and third to make sure we're running an efficient operation," said Chief Business Officer David Neter.

School board members seemed united in their support of the budget, but acknowledged the severity of the cuts. The budget also provides additional funds to schools, which are under-capacity, as part of the initiative to "make all schools more attractive."