California schools could eliminate a week of instruction and increase class sizes next year under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new plan for solving the state's budget crisis.

Vowing to give schools maximum flexibility to cut costs, the proposal unveiled Wednesday also would allow districts to eliminate one of two science courses required for high school graduation.

Schwarzenegger's plan would provide no teacher salary increases, eliminate a program providing subsidies to overhaul low-performing schools, and suspend participation in a program encouraging teachers to obtain national certification.

"It's got a lot of ugliness to it and something for everyone to hate," said Kevin Gordon, a veteran education lobbyist who said he sympathizes with Schwarzenegger's plight.

Students could see dramatic impacts from the governor's proposed $2.1 billion in education cuts this fiscal year and $3.1 billion from what schools anticipated in 2009-2010.

"What we've done is protect education to the extent possible," said Chief Deputy Director Ana Matosantos of the state Finance Department.

Matosantos said the state's plunging economy could have forced far deeper cuts in education than the ones Schwarzenegger proposed.

"We'll be working with our education partners and with schools to try to make this as workable as possible, but we recognize that difficult choices are required," she said.

Bob Wells, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators, said the possibility of cutting the school calendar from 180 days to 175 sends a terrible signal.

"It sort of sends the message that we're giving up," he said. "One of the contributing factors to what students learn is how much time they spend (in class)."

Debbie Bettencourt, deputy superintendent of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, said cutting the calendar would only exacerbate the strain on schools to cover mandated instruction.

Bettencourt said a new round of budget cuts could force Folsom Cordova schools to eliminate its class-size reduction program.

Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that the proposed cuts could hurt families statewide but that he understands the governor's dilemma.

"Nobody in education wants less education," said Hilary McLean, O'Connell's spokeswoman. "That's the last thing anyone would propose. But how do you swallow billions of dollars in cuts in one fell swoop?"

O'Connell supports the governor's push to give school districts more flexibility in cutting programs. "It's flexibility – with a gun to our head," Wells said.

Schwarzenegger's budget would not require districts to slice five days of instruction, but it assumes that many would, and it projects $1.1 billion in savings next year.

To compensate for cutting the school calendar, some districts potentially could add more minutes of instruction per day.

California faces a projected shortfall of about $40 billion over the next 18 months.

The governor has proposed to ease the pain, in part, by accounting transfers involving state transportation funds and by deferring $2.8 billion in school payments from April to July. Wells said the state, by deferring payments for three months, would place an "awful" new burden on school districts to secure short-term loans.

"Where they would normally borrow the money is from counties – and the counties are broke," Wells said.

Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538. The Bee's Walter Yost contributed to this report.