Of all the problems contributing to Allentown School District's dire financial situation and the list is long perhaps the toughest challenge is the drain of students to charter schools, Superintendent Russ Mayo said Tuesday.

Pointing to Allen High School, Mayo said the enrollment had declined from about 3,700 students five years ago to 2,500 today as kids head for the myriad charter and cyber charter schools that have sprouted up.

Districtwide, Allentown expects to pay $5.7 million more in charter school tuition in 2014-2015.

"If all the charter school students came back it would cost us $5 million to add staff," Mayo said. "But we are paying charters $22 million."

Mayo and district Chief Financial Officer John Clark made no attempt to sugarcoat Allentown's budget crisis at a public forum Tuesday at South Mountain Middle School.

Mayo told the dozen or so people who turned out that the forum was designed to inform citizens about the budget process and the district's financial straits but also to seek public input on solutions.

In January, the school board approved a preliminary budget that includes a 9 percent property tax increase and $6.1 million in salary cuts to plug a $13.2 million deficit. In the past four years, the district has eliminated 366 positions, shortened the school day for high school students and reduced arts offerings as part of the efforts to save money.

"All the low-hanging fruit is gone," Mayo said.

The district's woes are not the result of bad management, he said, adding that Allentown is in the bottom 10 percent of school districts in administrative spending per pupil.

Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget unveiled Feb. 4 would mean an additional $3.7 million for Allentown if it passes but that money comes with strings attached. The district can't just use it to plug the budget gap.

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Allentown School District superintendent: Charters are biggest drain