DANVILLE — A long line of parents and teachers spoke at Wednesday’s District 118 School Board hearing to protest the cutting of 82 district positions and all state-funded programs next school year.

Many defended the preschool and early intervention programs and asked the board to reinstate them — either through the use of $19 million in district reserves the administration has promised to protect as a hedge against lean times or by combining administrative positions.

All of the speakers agreed the community will suffer without the $3.3 million in state programming — especially the elimination of the county-wide preschool program — and that classroom sizes in core, K-12 classes will grow to the detriment of student instruction.

“This program being taken away, it’s going to stunt his future development,” said parent Gary Sparks, whose recently diagnosed, 3-year-old autistic son is enrolled in one of the district’s pre-K programs.

“He’s not the same kid as he was at 2 years old,” Sparks said. “To that I owe a great debt of thanks to the teachers in this union.”

Parent Kim Hughes, who has children at every attendance center level, said the community needs to rally behind the school and demand accountability from state leaders for failing in their fiscal responsibility.

“We can’t just roll over,” she said.

Former district custodian Chris Clapp said administration positions should be looked at before considering cutting classroom teachers or programs.

“You’re cutting into the people who are serving our kids,” he said. “What is that going to do to our kids?”

Diane Rew, pre-K coordinator, said research shows every $1 spent on early intervention programs saves $4-$16 in other social services for that child during the course of his life. She said they also positively affect dropout, crime and child-abuse rates.

She added, the recently expanded, federally funded Head Start program could not handle the overflow of students affected by the cuts.

“It’s going to be difficult to tell these families,” she said.

Judy Pendleton, a certified school nurse, said the school’s decision to cut two certified school nurses could negatively impact federal funding since their training includes advisement on educational goals and accommodation plans for students with disabilities. She said the positions could not be filled by lower-paid registered nurses.

“We worked very hard for that certification,” she said. “We have numerous special-needs students in our school that require extra help.”

Mike Twidwell, a teacher at South View Middle School and a parent of three children in the district, said his family moved here because of the educational opportunities at District 118 — opportunities he said will be harmed if the board approved a reduction in force.

“There were a lot of ‘cons,’” he said, “but the one ‘pro’ was the education that our child could receive in Danville. We have an opportunity to stand up as a community and say we believe in education. It’s the one bright spot we have in the community right now. If we ride this storm out, eventually something’s going to be done (at the state level).”

Board members approved the cutbacks despite the public pleas, and the overflow group at the meeting stood and left en masse following a testy exchange between the presidents of the school board and teacher’s union.

Board President Bill Dobbles suggested in closing remarks some positions could be saved if the union would agree to a wage and benefits freeze.

Danville Education Association President Robin Twidwell, before leading the procession out of the board room, indicated the proposal had never officially been offered to the union.