There might be fewer schools in Erie starting next school year.

Erie schools Superintendent Jay Badams says closing Erie School District schools will make up a “substantial portion” of the district’s plan to close an $8 million to $10 million budget deficit going into the 2012-13 school year. And Badams says he is going to make that suggestion to the Erie School Board when the board meets to discuss the budget today.

“We got away with avoiding some controversial and difficult decisions last year,” Badams says. “But we’re going to have to make those changes this year.”

The budget deficit is due to increased expenses for the district. The district’s costs are projected to balloon up to almost $140 million next school year from $130 million for the current school year. At the same time, district officials are expecting the same amount of funding.

Those increased costs account for a $5 million bond payment that was refinanced and pushed off a year to help bridge a similar $26 million deficit for the current school year. Other increasing costs include employee salaries and benefits along with pension and unemployment costs.

With an all out drug war developing in Erie and the related rise in gun violence, is closing more Erie schools the answer? Who is truly going to suffer with the increase in class size and decrease in resources?