GARDINER — About 100 Gardiner Area High School students walked out Tuesday and marched to the school district’s central office to oppose cuts to staff.

Students said they spoke out despite discipline risks for walking out, aiming to save a history teacher and assistant principal’s jobs from proposed School Administrative District 11 budget cuts, protest past reductions and prevent future ones that harm students’ education.

The boisterous group chanted, “Save the Teachers,” “Choose students not politics,” and “Our Teachers Matter.” They carried signs with slogans such as “Respect our teachers,” “Fund our Future,” and “You can’t put students first, if you put teachers last,” as some passing motorists honked their horns.

The students left the high school mid-morning and marched along West Hill Road to Highland Avenue to the MSAD 11 district central office, where they demonstrated for about 20 minutes. Most returned to school, although several students remained. The high school and central office are about a mile apart.

Officers from Gardiner police and Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office parked along the route and helped students cross Highland Avenue between the sidewalk and central office parking lot.

Juniors Connor Tibbetts, Georgiana McCamish and Victoria Tracey said the idea for the protest came to them while they were in class Monday, discussing current events. They said the school board has been a hot topic lately.

They said in each of the last few years, important teaching positions have been cut to save funds, a strategy they said is harmful for students, and to the area in general, because students will not be as well educated.

Senior Catherine Wiese said students understand that schools are funded by taxes, and many taxpayers struggle to make ends meet. But, she said, money should be saved in ways other than cutting teachers.

“We have families, so we know taxes are hard, paying rent is hard,” Wiese said. “But also, things like losing teachers and education is why places like this continue to be poor. If you have a lack of education, then you can’t go to college so you can get a higher-paying job. It’s hard out there. That’s why paying for this is important. I’m certainly not educated on exactly where our taxes go. But I know that we have room for our teachers, over other things. We understand the money piece, we know it’s not a perfect world.”

The school budget, according to documents on the district’s website, is proposed to be set at $33.5 million, a 2.14% increase. It is scheduled to go to the school board for approval Thursday at a special 5 p.m. meeting at the central office. The budget was also expected to be the topic of a Tuesday evening meeting of the finance committee.

Tibbetts, standing on the central office steps, encouraged his fellow students to go to both meetings to urge the board to reject the cuts and restore the positions to the budget.

“Our teachers deserve support!” Tibbets said. “We need to go pack these meetings. Let’s go! We’re here because we love our school, not because we hate it. Show up , show your signs. Be respectful, but also make sure they know what we want.”

No school administrators came out of the office during the demonstration . Administrators did not immediately return calls for comment.

Senior Jay Dostie said his mom is a teacher and thanked his fellow students for supporting her and the other teachers, because they can’t speak up for themselves.

Students said the educators to be cut were Michael Frier, a first-year assistant principal to freshmen and sophomores, andJarrod Dumas, a veteran educator currently teaching history, who previously served as an assistant principal.

Online budget documents indicate the budget would cut 12 positions, although three positions are currently vacant, and five are expected to be vacated due to retirement. The proposed cuts include a teaching position, a savings of $104,000, and an assistant principal position, saving $125,000 at the high school.

Ava Hersom, a senior, said since she’s been in school teachers have been cut every year, and she and other students are tired of losing teachers with whom they’ve built connections.

Hersom said detention was likely the worst punishment for the walkout, and it was worth it.

Tracey, who has a younger sibling six years behind her in school, worries budget cuts will harm not only her class but students for years to come.