The committee, formed to improve the relationship between Beaufort County Council and the school board, met for the third time at the district office in Beaufort on Tuesday.
Councilman Dick Stewart suggested the district develop a one-page document summarizing the impact the state budget cut would have on local schools. The budget was passed by the House of Representatives last month and the Senate's Finance Committee earlier this month.
The public might be supportive, Stewart said, if they knew in more detail the negative effects the cut could have.
"Creating public outrage is useful," he said.
The county must act quickly, school board member Stu Rodman said. The General Assembly's session ends in June.
Mark Generales, chairman of County Council's Finance Committee, suggested council members ask county attorneys if any legal options would prevent the cut.
"I don't think our message is being heard at all," he said. "That's why I suggest a lawsuit. I don't know what else to do."
Though one reason the panel was formed was to ease the tension that arises each year when the council has to approve the district's operating budget, the group didn't discuss the district's proposed $10.4 million increase over last year's budget. At a budget-development session Tuesday, district officials told school board members it would take $139.9 million to run the schools in 2005-06.
Committee representatives from the county are Councilmen Skeet Von Harten, Bill McBride and Mark Generales; county administrator Gary Kubic; planning director Tony Criscitiello; and finance director Tom Henrikson.
School district representatives are school board members Rodman, Richard Tritschler, David Chase and Margie Jenkins, as well as Crews and Phyllis White, the district's controller.
Also at the meeting Wednesday, district officials explained to County Council members how they calculated the salaries portion of the budget.
Crews said the district developed a formula for the minimum number of staff members required at each school and applied it at all 26 schools.
Council member Dick Stewart asked district officials to create a document that explains what percentage of the budget goes directly to the classroom. He said constituents often ask him that question.
"We need to know how many employees are in the classroom and how many are not," he said.
Law requires the district to hire some employees, such as nurses and psychologists, who don't work in the classroom, Crews said. Those employees also contribute to student achievement, she said.
Crews also told the council members that the district would appreciate them advocating for the district's salaries budget with their constituents. "You can't run a school with just teachers," she said.