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CHARLOTTE -- The school year isn't over, but administrators at West Mecklenburg High School are already preparing for next year. When students return, there will be fewer teachers, bigger classes and fewer course options. In two years combined, the school has lost 21 teachers and a handful of support staff.

"It puts stress on students," said cosmetology teacher Trina Davis. "The dynamics of the room have changed."

According to Principal Denise Atkinson, 74 percent of West Meck students are eligible for free or reduced lunch and many of the students arrive below grade level. Despite those challenges, the school has become a success story at CMS for the student achievement over the last four years.

In 2006, Judge Howard Manning named West Mecklenburg as one of a handful of low performing schools ordered to improve. That's when administrators turned everything around by revamping the staff, using data to create lesson plans and altering course schedules. The changes have contributed to the improved performance, but now administrators worry that more cuts will jeopardize years of gains.

"Our class enrollment went up to 25, 30, 31, 32 sometimes," explained Atkinson. "For students who are low performing that is too large."

Low performing students who need the most attention are the ones many fear will be affected the most. "You have to do a lot of planning to catch them early. The larger class sizes will cause of lot of them to maybe fall between the cracks," said Atkinson.

Teachers said they will do their best to make sure the transition is not disruptive to students, even if that means buying supplies themselves.

"We're not going to use that as an excuse and not work hard," said Atkinson. "So we're going to do the best we can with what we've got.

Both state and county leaders have not finalized its budgets. If more money is appropriated to the school system than expected, it will be used to rehire teachers who have received layoff notices.