Budget cuts are never good news, especially for Nevada's already strapped public education system.

So the news that Gov. Jim Gibbons' 4.5 percent statewide reductions would include even rural school districts came as an especially hard blow.

"Any cut in education funding will harm education," Nye County Superintendent Rob Roberts said bluntly. However, the superintendent added, that doesn't mean the direct effect on students and instruction can't be mitigated, at least to some degree.

Roberts was still in Northern Nevada last Friday afternoon after attending two meetings with the state's superintendents, Gibbons, and State Budget Director Andrew Clinger.

Roberts said the educational leaders were given information by Clinger on the status of the state budget and informed education would take a cut that amounted to about $95 million.

For Nye County, Roberts said, that means about a $1.4 million cut.

All of the superintendents agreed to do their part by looking at money that dealt with one-shot appropriations but still discussed ways to ease the inevitable and undeniable hurt in their budgets.

The main threat the dire fiscal news poses for Nye County (and indeed, districts statewide) is the potential it has to affect the district's operational capacity.

Roberts said nearly 90 percent of the district's budget is tied up in personnel costs, wryly adding that fuel and electricity aren't getting any cheaper.

"We don't want to lay people off, we don't want to have to increase class sizes, but we do have to stay operational," Roberts said.

The superintendent said that there are "proactive measures" that can be taken to help "mitigate the pain on education."

He pointed out the district could put a temporary freeze on hiring new employees, allowing substitute teachers to finish out the year, and cutting off non-essential departmental travel.

In addition, the superintendent said to bear in mind the district does have its ending fund balance, which could act as a "rainy day fund."

Still, it's an especially dark cloud around which it's hard to find a silver lining, especially in a business where people -- administrators, bus drivers, maintenance engineers and of course teachers -- are the most valuable asset.

"If you reduce people, you reduce resources," Roberts said.

Ultimately, however, Roberts said it will be up to the school board to manage district funds; there was no set date for implementation.

"The more time we have to plan, the better we can do to minimize the impact on student instruction," Roberts said.

Although Roberts conceded the budget cuts could possibly affect students, for example, in the form of less funding for school supplies (desks, text books, etc.), he added that once the district's other revenue sources are taken into consideration the actual budget cut could amount to less than the ominious 4.5 percent.

In addition, the superintendents asked for additional meetings with Clinger in the future to discuss impacts on student education.