NEWPORT — When city and school officials meet tonight to discuss next year’s school finances, they’ll consider a budget that has been whittled down since the last time they met.

The School Committee voted last week to adopt a $37.9-million spending plan, up 0.53 percent from this year. The budget, however, would require a 1.9-percent increase in the city’s education appropriation due to stagnating federal and state aid.

That’s substantially lower than School Superintendent John H. Ambrogi’s preliminary budget, which called for an overall increase of 2.1 percent, and a 5-percent jump in the city’s contribution to education.

City officials have indicated that they are leaning to freeze the amount of taxpayer dollars going to education next year. City Manager Edward F. Lavallee has proposed a $99.1-million budget that would increase the property tax levy 3.9 percent, but freeze the amount of taxpayer dollars going toward education. No money was included for school capital improvements.

Lavallee cited the school’s audited cumulative surplus of $2.7 million in his budget address. Ambrogi has said that $800,000 would be taken from the surplus this year and again next year to balance the books.

The cuts adopted by the committee last week were recommended by Ambrogi after projected enrollment figures were revised.

“When we got the enrollment figures, we were able to cut additional staff members and we were able to decrease special education tuitions,” he said. “I made the cut because it’s what we need. We never ask for more than we need.”

Savings in the $37.9-million budget included $200,000 in special education tuitions and about $500,000 in staff salaries and benefits. Overall, 18 positions were eliminated, including 11 teaching positions.

Ambrogi worries that using the surplus to balance the budget will cause a problem when the money is gone.

The requested appropriation, he said, “is very reasonable. It’s about half of what the cost-of-living increase has been for the last year. I would hope they would see the wisdom of funding at this minimal level.”

The City Council and the School Committee will hold a joint session tonight on the budget, as required by state law, at 6:30 at City Hall.

rsalit@projo.com