State budget cuts have reduced what schools can offer - and it's the students that are being hurt, teachers and staff from Palm Springs Unified School District told a group of about 30 at a public meeting on Wednesday.

“From the outside, school looks no different,” Palm Springs Teachers Association President Bev Bricker said, adding that many teachers put in the extra time and money to make up the difference. “But in the classroom, it is different.”

Teachers, parents and community members came to the PSTA's first community forum on the school district budget and to hear how budget cuts have changed classrooms.

Classes were collapsed after the beginning of the school year, splitting students among several classes.

That change was dramatic for Agua Caliente Elementary teacher Raina Robinson's first- graders.

One boy was sure he was moved because he was stupid and another didn't talk for weeks, she said.

In higher grades, large classes are frustrating students, teachers and counselors struggling to find room for a new student when every class is already filled beyond capacity.

Students are acting out and teachers are losing patience.

Rubin Nisco, a senior at Cathedral City High School, has 72 students in his gym class and more than 40 in his academic classes.

“At first, I thought it was a joke,” the 18-year-old said. “I think it is ridiculous. And I can't imagine the stress and the strain the teachers are going through.”

The forum included a presentation on the budget.

Of the top four departments funded by the state — K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, and corrections — K-12 education was the only one to receive less in 2008-09 than it did in 2004-05, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jim Novak said.

A groan erupted in the room when Novak's presentation showed how little the Department of Corrections was cut last year.

“It just shows where the values are,” Novak said.

Times are tough at schools, but the community can make a difference, officials said.

The group collected postcards addressed to Sacramento that argued against school cuts, but others stressed that volunteers could improve conditions at schools.

“Please don't be afraid to step in,” Cathedral City High School counselor Ruth Kwake said.