Just a few weeks ago, Indian Creek was battling for a levy, but on Wednesday night, under mounting financial pressure caused by its defeat, board members were forced to make some very difficult decisions.

"Anytime you're going to look at staff reductions, the closing of buildings, those are difficult decisions to make, and the decisions were not made lightly tonight," Superintendent John Rocchi said.

Rocchi said the failure of the levy didn't just stop the dream for a new high school, but that it has also put renovation projects in serious jeopardy.

"We need to renovate some buildings this summer, and that money is not there that would have been through that levy, so we are looking for a way to finance those, and we are looking to reduce our deficit by about $800,000 next year," Rocchi said.

Rocchi said losses in state funding are to blame for the deficit. He said the school is looking at a loss of $1.3 million over two years in the personal tangible property tax, and that, in addition to a loss of stimulus money, has severely affected the budget.

But, while staff members and buildings are on the chopping block, the superintendent said they will do their best to continue to provide a quality education.

"We need to make sure that kids and parents have the services they are used to. We are not touching busing. We are not touching the extracurricular activities," Rocchi said.

Rocchi said the next step is to notify parents and teachers of Wednesday night's meeting.