CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Just one day after Gov. Jim Gibbons announced the state could see 10 to 14 percent budget cuts, some state Congressional members are questioning if the plan would do more harm than good.

Describing it as a "train wreck waiting to happen," state Rep. Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said such budget cuts would be impossible to implement.

Clark County Superintendent Walt Rulffes also questioned the plan, saying that such reductions would "wreak havoc" on local schools. Washoe County Superintendent Paul Dugan called them "more than just a giant step backwards."

Dan Klaich, the state university system's executive vice chancellor, said the suggested cuts are "breathtaking in their amount" and signal "a much deeper and more permanent cut in all services in the State of Nevada, including education."

The state has been facing an operational budget shortfall for several months. In January, when the current fiscal budgetary shortfall was $517 million, Gibbons told state departments that they needed to cut their budgets by 4.5 percent.

Just a few months later, after gaming and state revenues dropped substantially, state financial analysts predicted the shortfall would be nearly $900 million by mid-2009. Gibbons has been meeting with officials since, trying to determine the best way to combat the multimillion-dollar deficit.