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POTOMAC - Schools are trying to come up with ways to make their dollars stretch as Montana lawmakers consider possible big budget cuts.

One such school that's bracing for the possible cutbacks is Potomac Elementary School, where officials told its district community of possible changes at the school at a public meeting on Thursday night.

About 115 students attend Potomac's kindergarten through eighth grade school and Principal Tim Johnson, who is in his first year at the school, said it's important for the district to analyze its expenditures.

"We have to look at the way we operate our schedule, the way we have transportation set up, the way that we are paying our teachers," he said. "We have to look at every single option because in a smaller district, we have fewer options to choose from, so every option becomes that much more important."

The meeting included a video chat with Montana School Board Association member Lance Melton, who is in Helena keeping tabs on the legislature. He told the Potomac community proposed cuts could mean a $37,000 loss for the district, but he's optimistic that number will be less in the end.

Potomac staffers are still looking beyond cuts to maintain a small community experience while also equipping each student for his or her future. It's part of the school's recently-adopted mission statement that strives for a culture of excellence.

"This really is a jewel of a district," Johnson said. He said the school's small size allows it to try different curriculum. Potomac staff wants to change the math to performance-based, dividing students by skill level rather than grade level.

"It works well with the elementary setup because we have teachers who can teach K-8, we have teachers that can be moved around in the building to different grade levels," Johnson said. "We have a lot of flexibility."

The school is also working on plans to open the school computer lab and wireless Internet signal to the community.