Several Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members say they'll consider again postponing a vote on severe cuts to the Bright Beginnings pre-kindergarten program.

In the two weeks since the board postponed action Jan. 25, no one has come up with a way to offset the $10.4 million in cuts Superintendent Peter Gorman has proposed, members say. Another, longer delay could allow those who support the program for disadvantaged 4-year-olds to push for more county or state money.

"I think it keeps it in front of the board, in front of the public and in front of county commissioners," board Vice Chair Tom Tate said Monday. "I worry if we vote on it, we take it off the table, for us and for everybody."

He's among six members who said they'd at least consider delaying today's scheduled vote.

But board member Tim Morgan said he's ready to approve Gorman's plan for cuts: "I think it's important for us to give direction to the staff."

A delayed vote could force a tough debate on priorities: Are a majority of board members willing to trade K-12 teachers and other jobs to protect pre-K?

Right now, the trade-offs are hypothetical. Based on projections about the 2011-12 budget, Gorman has presented a menu of cuts that would pare $100 million in spending by eliminating about 600 teachers and 900 other jobs. CMS won't get firm numbers from the county and state, which provide most of the district's $1 billion-plus budget, until spring or summer.

Under Gorman's priority list, even if CMS got $10 million more than expected, that would go toward restoring K-12 teacher jobs rather than saving Bright Beginnings classes. Bright Beginnings is in the priority line behind about $43.5 million in cuts to K-12 teachers, assistants and support staff.

The Bright Beginnings cut would eliminate jobs for 105 teachers and assistants, as well as principals and support staff at four pre-K centers.

The board won't vote on a full budget plan until May, but Gorman asked them to settle the Bright Beginnings question in January so the pre-K teachers could join the district's transfer fair if their jobs are ending. But some board members are questioning why the pre-K faculty can't follow the same process as other teachers who may be laid off because of budget cuts.

Unlike the school closings approved in November, closing 105 of the district's 175 pre-K classes won't involve reassigning students, because this year's students will move up to kindergarten. Instead, it would mean providing seats for just under 1,200 4-year-olds next year, compared with 3,200 this year.

A Friday memo from Gorman and Chief Accountability Officer Robert Avossa urging board members to disregard previous CMS research on Bright Beginnings effectiveness has also complicated the decision, some members say.

"Having data would make it much easier," Chair Eric Davis said Friday, shortly after getting the memo.

Tate said he's disheartened and confused by Gorman's rejection of a prior administration's research, especially since one of the rejected reports was done by Educational Research Service, a consulting firm that CMS still uses.

"It is confusing to me about what we really have learned," he said.