The DeKalb County School Board has to cut another $12 million from their budget and that means the Fernbank Science Center's future is hanging in the balance.

To those who passed through the center, and owe their careers to it, the idea of the center closing is distressing.

"It's where you're getting most of your science education," says Steve Jaret, a Fernbank Science Center success story.

Jaret first visited the center when he was in the 7th grade.  That trip began his career.

"It was the first time I actually got to see geology and space sciences," Jaret tells WSB.  "The only exposure I got to them was through Fernbank.  If it wasn't for Fernbank I would not have known that these existed as fields of study."

That exposure to science changed Jaret's life.  He went on to earn a Masters degree from Harvard in Earth and Planetary Science.  He now studies meteorites and teaches geology at Auburn University.

He gives full credit for his career to Fernbank.

"I guarantee I would not have the same career path if not for Fernbank," he says.  "Mainly because geology and astronomy didn't get offered at my regular school."

Jaret is not alone in his success.  NASA astronauts Eric Boe and Shane Kimbrough attended sessions at Fernbank while each was attending school in metro Atlanta.