The House and Senate are working out details of the state budget, but the Bowling Green Independent School System is already preparing for the worst.

It's planning to cut 10 positions in the district, basing the decision on which teachers have the least seniority. Now, one instructor's speaking out on the strain the cuts could create for the classroom.

"The core subject matter that was distributed among four teachers will not be cut back to three teachers," says TC Cherry 4th and 5th Grade Math Teacher Michael Thurman. "So, it's just going to increase the instructional load, which is going to make it very challenging."

Thurman says his 4th and 5th grade math class had been going swimmingly until the announcement that Bowling Green Independent Schools were downsizing.

"I think it unfair to the students because there are only so many hours in the day, there's only so much instruction time," says Thurman.

However, both the House and Senate budget proposals actually included raises for teachers. So why the need for 10 position cuts? Bowling Green School Superintendent Joe Tinius says it's in response to Governor Beshear's proposal to cut funding to the Department of Education by 12%.

"They can always come back at a later date and put some of those positions back in, but you can't come back at a later day saying, the budget turned out to be even worse than anticipated," Tinius explains.

Even with the hope that the final state budget won't include cuts to state education, Thurman says teachers aren't getting their hopes up.

"I don't know how many of us are holding our breath because we would've been holding our breath most of our careers, so I think we just take it in stride," says Thurman.

"The proposal right now will be delayed to May 15th this year. So, that gives us some time between now and the middle of May. Hopefully, we won't have to talk to 10 individuals, but less than that," Tinius concludes.

Joe Tinius adds that the number of teachers retiring from the Bowling Green Independent School System this year could lessen the number of people let go.