The Edgar School District came dangerously close to losing their only full-time guidance counselor, due to budget cuts. But thanks to a lot of community support, the district was able to save that position. And officials say it's been a lifesaver.

Brooke Davis is in her first month as a guidance counselor at Edgar High School. And it's been a busy start to the new school year.

"The first few weeks have been a lot of getting to know students, and then getting them ready for college with scheduling, application due dates, and which colleges they need to and how to apply," says Davis.

But this past spring, Davis' position was in danger. The district had planned to reduce the guidance counselor job to a part-time position, and give some of the counseling duties to other administrators.

"It would've been a big load for the guidance counselor, but the only other staff that could've helped would be the elementary and high school principals," says Mark Lacke, superintendent of the Edgar School District.

But in July, voters passed a $300,000 referendum, saving that full-time counseling position. Lacke says that "yes" vote has allowed teachers to re-focus on education, and not worry about juggling more job duties.

And Davis says she's able to do her job more effectively.

"I can't imagine being a guidance counselor, part time and still being effective in getting students ready for college, and still doing counseling. I don't see how they could do it," says Davis.

But statewide, the number of high school guidance counselors is down almost 12 percent from 1986 to 2004, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This is coming at a time when graduation rates are high and college prep is more important than ever.