Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman said Wednesday he "hasn't heard any new ideas" from those trying to save the Bright Beginnings Pre-K program from big budget cuts and expects the school board to vote next week on the issue.

"It's on the agenda for next Tuesday," Gorman said during his weekly news conference. "But I haven't heard of a new funding source for the program."

At its Jan. 25 meeting, the board delayed voting on Gorman's request to cut the program from about 3,000 students to 1,178. The superintendent's plan also includes shutting the five pre-kindergarten centers and eliminating the program from elementary schools with poverty rates of less than 75 percent.

The cuts would provide $10.4million relief to CMS, which is facing a possible $100million budget reduction for the 2011-12 academic year.

During the Jan. 25 meeting, board members heard from dozens of Bright Beginnings supporters who lobbied to keep the program going. Some parents and other backers suggested making cuts elsewhere in the budget.

Others talked of trying to find a way to fund the program before the board meets again next week. The board voted 8-0, with member Joe White absent, to delay a decision.

But no new plans have surfaced in the week since the meeting.

"We're at a point ... where we'd leave parents hanging, leave staff hanging," Gorman said, when asked if the school board might delay a decision again.

One reason for a prompt decision, he added, is an upcoming Job Transfer Fair, where the 75 teachers who face losing their jobs in the Bright Beginnings cut can apply for teaching positions elsewhere in the system.

"Those teachers need to know what's happening next year," Gorman said.