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FALCON, COLO. -- This past election voters made it very clear they weren't interested in tax hikes, but the results were disappointing for one local school district which said they needed their ballot measures to pass.

Issue 3G asked for an $85 million bond, and Issue 3F asked for a $5 million mill levy.

Both failed with 67 percent of voters voting no for each issue.

Board members with D49 said the district has already cut everywhere they can, and with more cuts on the horizon and the ballot measures not passing, they may have to look at changes in the classroom.

The district has been growing by about 10 percent every year, and school officials said the bond would have been used to make more room for students.

"The bond would have been $85 million, which would have been $1.50 per month of assessed value, so it wasn't a lot, but it would have built a new middle school, a new elementary and finished our two high schools, which would have also brought jobs to our community," Tammy Harold, D49 school board secretary, said.

Harold said the school is floor funded, so they only have what the state gives them to work with.

"On a $200,000 home property value it would have been $3 a month, so we were hoping," she said.

The district also asked voters for a mill levy, which would have gone to fund transportation, update technology in the classrooms and hire 21 more teachers.

"We went to a fee-for-service on our transportation which caused an outcry last year of the public, and we were hoping to get that $600,000 from the mill levy to help with that, but without that it severely limits our options for transportation next year also," Harold said.

School officials said they are disappointed in the election results, but not necessarily surprised.

"With the economic times and with Proposition 103 on the ballot also, I don't think it's a surprised that we didn't pass it, but it's still disappointing. We always hope for the best," Harold said.

Sean Dorsey, Assistant Superintendent of the Sand Creek Innovation Zone, said the results will be tough on everyone.

"It's tough for our students, and it's tough for our teachers who work hard every day. They really bring their A-game and we want to give them all the resources that we can give them," Dorsey said.

But he said it's the students who will be affected the most.

"Without question students suffer the most, you know, we want to provide them a high quality education, and we certainly feel like we can still do that, however, we can't offer them everything we certainly want to offer them," Dorsey said.

Dorsey said there are already some classrooms with more than 50 students, and as the district continues to grow, it's only going to get worse.

"Overcrowding brings a lot of concerns into play around school safety, crowded classrooms, lack of individualized differentiated instructions for students," Dorsey said.

The issues could go back to the voters next year, but Harold said that's up to the new board.

"There will be a new board with three new members, and it will be up to them and the community if they feel that the community is ready and they have enough information this time around," Harold said.

Dorsey said he hopes if the issues do go back to the voters they choose to invest in education.

"We know that there are tough choices with regard to the economy, people have to make tough choices around feeding their family to paying their heating bills, but again keep students in mind, that's the best investment we can make," Dorsey said.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced a proposal for $89 million worth of cuts for K-12 for 2012 which means D49 is looking at $4 million more cuts for next year.

Harold said they may have no choice but to cut staff or consider furlough days.

"When you figure 85 percent of our budget is employee staff across the board and you take another $4 million cut, it starts affecting the staff, and it's one of the last groups we've ever tried to hit is teachers, and that's about where we are at now," Harold said. "It's just heartbreaking to see that we're not able to give our staff and our students and our district what we feel we need to educationally."