INDIANAPOLIS -- Perry Township schools officials are considering cutbacks on bus services amid gas price increases that have left the transportation budget deeply in the red.

School districts all over the country are grappling with rapidly rising transportation costs, but few have taken the additional step of cutting field trips and other extra-curricular activities, such as sports, because of it.

A Perry Township school official who didn't want to be identified told 6News' Julie Pursley that the district is as much as $600,000 over its transportation budget.

"The cost of transportation is a factor in every decision that we make," said school board member Nancy Walsh. "The easy solution would be to cut programs and services, but we're not looking for the easy answers."

Walsh said administrators had not yet made recommendations to the board.

"That's certainly what I'm going to be looking for is for the individuals who will be making these recommendations to sharpen their pencils and come up with some creative approaches," Walsh said. "The last thing we want to do is cut programs and services for our students."

Any large-scale cuts would have to be approved by the school board.