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FALCON, COLO. -- A day after a heated school board meeting, Falcon School District 49 is looking at alternative options for busing.

District leaders said they are facing a $4 million budget shortfall, and some board members said they don't want to make any more cuts in the classroom.

They are looking at cutting all school bus service to save the district $3.6 million.

At Thursday night's school board meeting, members voted to cut bus service and directed staff to look at all options for the future of school bus service in D49.

First up on the list of options is a voter-approved tax hike to pay for busing, but a similar measure failed in November.

"I think it would be up to the community to decide whether or not that is something they would support," District 49 spokesperson Stephanie Meredith said.

D49 is looking at changing routes to make their service more efficient.

Another option is having a private company take over school bus service.

Yet another is charging parents a fee to put their kids on the bus.

"School districts are at a point where cuts are gonna have to be made," Meredith said. "It's just a matter of where."

Woodland Park Schools turned to a private company for their school bus service this year, and they charge a fee for kids to ride a bus.

Parents there pay $50 per child for the entire school year. The fee is limited to $100 per family.

Any decision for D49 could still be months away as staff and the school board sort through all the options.

"By the end of March the board would like to make some final decisions just so we can get out ahead of this and make people aware of what the situation will be for the next school year," Meredith said.

For now, D49 parents can rest easy knowing that their kids have a ride to school.

"Nothing would effect students this school year," Meredith said. "Everything will remain the same, so that will give us some time to really work out options," Meredith said.

The public meeting on the matter will Jan. 26 when there will be a work session to sort through all the options.