Hamilton County Schools' Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz laid out a multitiered "retirement incentive" to members of the school board's Finance Committee as one way to chip away at the district's projected $20.2 million deficit.

"At $20 million, that is a large number, and when you divide that by $55,000 a head, that's a lot of people (to cut)," he said. "We don't believe (the buyout plan) is going to be enough to balance the budget."

"This first thing would be voluntary," said school board member Chip Baker. "The second thing (personnel cuts) is going to be a lot more gruesome."

"This would be just for this year," he said of the proposed health care plan. "But we have to be careful because this kind of becomes a precedent."