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Free lunch? Paid sports?

They're among the ideas offered for closing a $20-million gap in the Pinellas schools budget.

If you had the keys to the Pinellas County school system, how would you cut $20-million to balance next year's budget?

The district's principals had a few ideas at a recent brainstorming session. Some suggestions - and they are only suggestions - were more drastic than others.

Here's a sample:

--Cut 2 percent from every department.

--Give all students free lunches to eliminate staff time needed to administer the free and reduced-price lunch program. (About 40 percent of students get free or reduced-price lunches.)

--Require students to pay to play on sports teams.

--Eliminate all sports.

--Eliminate the school choice plan.

--Rethink bus routes. (Because of choice, buses run only 60 percent full).

--Reduce art, music, chorus and physical education.

--Reduce the number of secretaries at district headquarters.

--Eliminate school librarians.

--Institute a four-day workweek.

--Out-source maintenance, school police, school nurses, food service or buses.

--Turn over debts, such as lost textbooks, to a collection agency.

--Give all 14,000 employees a 1 percent raise and make them pay health costs. (This year, the district pays 80 percent of health costs.)

--Sell property.