METHUEN — When public school officials laid off workers in recent weeks, they wiped a family off the payroll.

They cut Tenney Grammar School program assistant Diane Ferraro, who is president of the program assistants union, her husband, Mike, a custodian at Marsh Grammar School, and her son, Matt, a custodian at Methuen High School.

"Don't know," Ferraro said after a School Committee budget meeting last night, when she was asked what she and her family will do. "Whole lot of crying."

Superintendent Jeanne Whitten has said she's trying to bring back as many laid off employees as she can. But the School Department's finances have become worse. The purpose of last night's meeting was for Whitten and the committee to discuss ways to close a $747,400 budget shortfall caused by lower than expected state aid. So the $57.6 million school budget that city councilors approved last week is now down to $56.9 million.

The School Committee took no votes last night.

Whitten gave the committee a list of ways to help cut $747,400 from the budget. One way is to use federal economic stimulus money to pay the salaries of three more employees than previously planned, eliminate one alternative high school teacher and one instructional technology teacher, and leave a social studies coordinator job open. All that would account for more than $400,000, according to Whitten.

Other options floated by Whitten included leaving open positions unfilled, which means many classes would swell to 28 to 30 students each. School Committee members opposed that idea.

Whitten said officials could freeze positions that are not classroom teaching positions. She suggested working with the teachers union to convince it to make a concession in its contract that wouldn't affect retirements, such as freezing step increases that hike pay. That alone could save $700,000, according to Whitten.

"I hope that the teachers will take a good hard look and come to the table," said committee member Robert Vogler.

Whitten could work with the custodians union to bring back weekend shifts for one or two workers, meaning they would be paid regular time, not overtime, when people rent schools for weekend events.

Whitten said she could cut one new English teacher and one new math teacher at Methuen High by consolidating some of the less-attended English and math classes. She also could lay off "nonprofessional" faculty.

"It's not a place I wanted to go," Whitten said about the prospect of laying off more staff. "But that is an option."

As of now, Whitten said 13 program assistants and seven custodians are laid off. She plans to bring back four program assistants.

Whitten's budget originally counted on receiving $37,369,988 in state education aid. But the state budget signed by Gov. Deval Patrick on June 29 — the same day School Committee members approved Whitten's budget and two days before city councilors followed suit — reduced Methuen's Chapter 70 aid by $747,400, to $36,622,588.

Methuen will receive $4.3 million in federal stimulus money over the next two years. Whitten currently plans to use half of that this year and half next year, according to a document she gave committee members. She plans to use the money to pay the salaries of 26 employees, including five new full-time jobs — three English coaches, an English teacher and a math teacher — and one new part-time employee — an Arabic teacher who will be paid $12,000.