The much sought after Green School District Levy lost unofficially by 24 votes.

“We will be all right,” Erika Merrill, head of the media committee for Green Levy campaign, said. “At least we closed the gap, last time we lost by approximately 600 votes.”

The school district still needs the levy, which will be on the ballot in August and if necessary, again in November.

“We are disheartened to come this close but we are positive about closing the gap,” Merrill said. “We feel positive for August.”

It’s to early to tell if the levy would be changed before the next ballot.

“I don’t feel the levy needs to be changed, we need to work harder to reach out to those voters who voted no and appeal to them, get them to see how much our kids need their help,” Merrill said. “When you break it down, it’s just a few cents a day and our kids are worth a few cents a day.”

The administration, school district, treasurer and school board will have to determine the next step.

“There will be hard decisions that need to be made like various types of cuts,” Merrill said.

Depending on the outcome of the next time the levy is on the ballot, the school district could be put under fiscal caution, fiscal emergency or fiscal watch. Any of the three would require the state to get involved and begin making financial decisions on the district’s behalf.

“The board would really have to make some major adjustments,” Merrill said.

Going forward, the campaign will regroup and determine the next step in getting the levy passed, Merrill said.

“We want to thank our supporters and volunteers who dedicated their time, their effort and any monetary donations that we received, we want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts,” Merrill said. “The district as a whole will have to determine the next steps and we are going to keep those steps as positive as possible for our students and families.”