Murrieta school trustees soon will be asked about cutting five days of instruction from the next school year as the district tries to balance its budget.

The Murrieta Valley Unified School District Board discussed the possibility of cutting the days during a special meeting Thursday. It will come up for a vote when trustees meet again April 22, Superintendent Stan Scheer said

"It's all part of trying to slow our costs down," Scheer said.

Shaving five days from the calendar would save $3.2 million, mostly in salaries, according the district.

Scheer said instructional days can be cut without authorization for workers, but employee contracts cannot be changed without labor union agreement.

Officials are looking to cut the final $6 million from what was once an anticipated $14 million deficit for the 2010-11 school year.

That number was whittled down through, among other actions, retirements, dismissal of temporary employees and pulling $1.7 million from the district's reserve account.

Trustees also have authorized eliminating 159 teaching positions.

Employees in the district's two labor unions have been asked to take a unspecified pay cut to help eliminate those layoffs.

Negotiations are ongoing, Scheer said.

In 2010-11, the district is expecting revenues of $146 million and expenditures of $149 million.

With education hit hard by the state's budget crisis, school districts have been given the option of reducing the number of days students are in class from 180 to 175.

Temecula made that move last month.

Murrieta administrators said that if five days are lopped off the calendar, an effort will be made to limit the impact the lost time will have on students.

"The same academic expectations must be in place," Assistant Superintendent Guy Romero told the board. " ... There are no plans for us to adjust any exams and no plans to minimize our expectations. But it's obvious a 175-day calendar presents some challenges."

Scheer said administrators will work to see that any lost time will not affect what children learn.

"We're going to try to nip and tuck it as much as we can," he said. "We're committed to maintaining our programs."

Romero said educators at the middle and high school level have suggested eliminating some late-start and early-release days, when teachers work and plan together.

The board will have to weigh the value of that collaboration versus instructional time, he said.

Scheer was unsure if lost time could be made up by adding minutes to the days when children are in school.

He said that when he increased the length of the school day in a previous district, it was expensive to compensate the teachers for the extra time.

During the meeting, trustees took turns blasting legislators for putting school districts in a tough position.

"It's a terrible situation that we have to look at taking away these instructional days," Kris Thomasian said.

Margi Wray pointed out that the idea of shortening the school year comes as other countries are expanding their educational offerings.

"I think it's deplorable we have to think about doing this," Wray said. "If we're talking about cutting back time, we're talking about cutting what we're offering children."

Call staff writer Craig Shultz at 951-676-4315, ext. 2625.