Mesa County's District 51 school board has made nearly $6 million in budget cuts ahead of next year official.

By a unanimous vote, board members adopted a budget funding a district-wide raise by cutting 45 district positions, extending the walking distance to and from school, and elimination the LEAG program which assists students in danger of dropping out.

"Even though they are not as much as we've faced in the past, they are coming at the end of a three year period where we have had to cut and cut and cut," School Board President Greg Mikolai said. "So, this isn't just a matter of looking at this year, but what's happened over the last three years which has been $30 million."

The budget's adoption Tuesday night comes after two public hearings on the proposal.

Early on in the process, officials ruled out four day school weeks and school closures when considering what to cut.