Asked how recent school budget cuts will affect students, Pat Godwin, superintendent of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, references the words of Microsoft's Bill Gates.

Gates has said high schools must be redesigned with classes that are rigorous and relevant to kids and with supportive relationships for children.

It's that last element, Godwin fears, that is being sacrificed as school districts struggle to balance their budgets.

"All of us (districts) have reduced the number of people in our schools - teachers, campus monitors, librarians, support staff, administrators," Godwin said. "With fewer people, you lose the relationship piece."

Around the Sacramento region, from Citrus Heights to Placerville, students will notice fewer adults when they return to classes this month.

In the Western Placer Unified School District, staff reductions will be felt in custodial services, kindergarten classes and front offices. In San Juan Unified, four counseling positions have been left vacant, and the equivalent of three full-time vice principal positions were cut.

Although the region's largest district, Elk Grove Unified, issued pink slips to more than 210 certificated and classified positions earlier in the year, all of those positions have since been reinstated, district spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich said.

But even in a small district like Placerville Union with fewer than 1,200 students, the school psychologist will work one fewer day per week, a part-time assistant principal position was eliminated, and there no longer will be a licensed vocational nurse to support the district's full-time nurse.

Such cutbacks, no matter how minimal, only exacerbate a statewide problem in public education, said Vicki Barber, superintendent of the El Dorado County Office of Education.

California schools, she maintains, are already abysmally staffed compared with the national average.

"The typical American school has 30 percent more teachers, 61 percent more school site administrators and 92 percent more counselors than we have in California," Barber said.

Barber agrees with Godwin's assessment that when it comes to recent cutbacks, students and their parents will "notice the things that occur around the edges."

"There will still be services, but there'll be more waiting," Godwin said. A student getting on a computer, for example, will be able to do so, but possibly without the assistance of computer lab staff members.

Folsom Cordova was forced to make nearly $6 million worth of cuts to its 2008-09 budget, including eliminating class-size reduction for third grade.

Other reductions will affect custodians, school librarians, building maintenance and repair employees and special education classroom aides.

In addition, the district issued layoff notices to about 48 certificated employees – teachers and administrators.

A financial snapshot of Placer County schools reveals a mixed bag.

The Roseville Joint Union High School District is among the lucky ones to have voter-approved bonds to open new campuses and spruce up facilities this year.

Other districts, hit hard by the housing market crash and declining student enrollment, will struggle to keep afloat.

"We tried to maintain the same programs we had the prior year, that was a strong desire for us, but still it's difficult to cut $2.9 million from a $40 million budget and not have some things felt," said Scott Leaman, superintendent of Western Placer Unified.

Parents will notice higher fees for school busing and meals for their children in the Lincoln-based district.

The cost for an annual bus pass will jump from $180 to $225 for about 500 students who use the service.

Lunch fees will increase 25 cents for elementary students, and there will be fewer fresh foods and more canned goods offered to keep costs down, Leaman said.

And during busy times in school front offices, Leaman said, "there will be one person less to help."

Elsewhere in Placer County, the Roseville Joint Union High School District is scheduled to open the new Antelope High School on Elverta Road today. However, officials warn that district high school students won't go on as many field trips or athletic trips this year, after the travel budget was slashed by 10 percent.

In the Elk Grove Unified School District, 2008-09 budget cuts totaled $15 million. Of that figure, about $2.5 million is related to state budget cuts, while the remainder can be attributed to increased costs such as salary hikes, rising food and fuel expenses and health care costs.

In early March, the district issued pink slips to 137 teaching positions and 80 classified positions, including para-educators, library technicians and others.

However, the budget outlook improved in May, and thanks in part to attrition and grant funding, the district was able to bring everyone back, Graswich said.

Elk Grove Unified also was able to secure federal funds to reinstate half the positions it had planned to cut in math and ninth-grade English class-size reduction. Graswich said the district will target students with the greatest academic need.

But the district still was forced to reduce textbook funds, summer school offerings, professional learning opportunities and other services to balance its budget.

In the San Juan district, the board of trustees had to cut about $6 million from the 2008-09 budget. District spokesman Trent Allen said staffing cutbacks include:

• Four counselors retired and have not been replaced.

• Vice principal positions have been cut, increasing the workload for principals and remaining vice principals.

• Maintenance and operations staff have been reduced, increasing the workload for remaining employees and resulting in slower service.

In addition, Allen said, individual school and central admin- istration budgets for materials, supplies, professional services, travel and conferences were cut by 13 percent.

Call The Bee's Walter Yost, (916) 608-7449. Bee staff writers Lakiesha McGhee and Melissa Nix contributed to this report.