New Mexico has to fill in a financial hole that's at least $450 million deep — and the education system is going to do some of the shoveling.

That message, first delivered by the Legislature last week when it voted to cut education spending by 1.9 percent, was reinforced by others Monday night at a Santa Fe Public Schools study session at the Educational Services Center.

Board President Angélica Ruiz called the session in an effort to bring lawmakers and educators together for a better understanding of the problem. But the session was really nothing more than a prologue to an upcoming board of education budget hearing to address specific spending cuts. That meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 14.

Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez said she would be working to "figure out what we need to do as a school district to be fiscally solvent." In a letter released Monday, Gutierrez said her budget advisory committee is working on making cuts that won't directly impact classroom and teaching positions — such as administrative reductions, a reassignment of nonschool-based staff, and a 10 percent reduction in supplies and materials.

Paul Aguilar, a senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Finance Committee, said the cuts should have little or no impact on employment levels within the school system.

During the event, school board members urged legislators to protect education — "our children" — while legislators, in turn, made it clear that there's still a lot of money problems to face before the regular 30-day session in January.

"I have to say there is a sense among some of my colleagues that education got off way too easy," said state Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe. He said the public does not seem to be understanding the potential impact of the cuts.

About 25 people attended the session, with just a handful standing up to make public comments. Among them: a man who urged the state to do an energy audit of the public schools to see whether gas and electricity costs could be cut, and a woman who accused Gutierrez and the board of spending $400,000 to hire teachers from Nebraska to teach New Mexican teachers how to teach. Gutierrez said the claim was unfounded.

After the session, Gutierrez said she hopes parents, students and school employees show up on Nov. 14.

"I think Sen. Wirth and Mr. Aguilar were right in saying that they do not believe the public understands the severity of this economic crisis we are in, not only for education but for other state agencies," she said.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.