The wishes of residents who testified at a public hearing were in large part answered Wednesday night as the Windham-Raymond School Board put back in its proposed budget the most valued programs cut in the first draft.

The Windham Middle School music program, which drew the most passionate response, was reinstated in full to within the school day after some scheduling changes, and the middle school LifeSkills and high school industrial technologies positions were also restored. Three more teachers were added to the budget, as well, for the second grade at Raymond Elementary, the fifth grade at Manchester School, and the third grade at Windham Primary, all to deal with rising class sizes. Also in the proposed budget is full-day kindergarten at Windham Primary, to match the same program in Raymond. The budget includes nearly $590,000 for costs associated to the startup of the new Regional School Unit 14.

The School Board has put on the shelf a plan to expand the state laptop program into Windham High School until the details of the federal stimulus funds are revealed. The four-year program would cost $328,700 per year, which board members said they would like to put off for a year unless the stimulus funds can offset the cost.

The spending in the budget is now approximately equal to that in this year’s Windham and Raymond school budgets combined, said Finance Director Donn Davis. State subsidy and other revenues are largely unknown at this time, and the board will have to re-examine the spending in the proposed budget if revenues do not reach this year’s level, pushing the tax rate upward.

Included in the proposed budget on the revenue side is a new activity fee assessed to $25 per sport and $10 per extracurricular activity at the high school and middle school, which would raise around $60,000.

The School Board will continue its deliberations on the budget at a meeting Wednesday, April 15, in Raymond, when administrators will present a revised budget containing all the changes. More may be known about state aid at that time, though Davis said school districts across the state are frustrated at the delay. Superintendent Sandy Prince told the board he needs the approved budget by early May at the latest in order to prepare for the public budget meeting May 27 and the validation vote June 9.

During deliberations Wednesday, the board heeded the call communicated in hundreds of e-mails, letters and phone calls requesting that the middle school music program be kept during the school day. Administrators had winnowed down the program and moved it after school to save nearly $114,000 from the middle school budget.

Over the past week, Curriculum Director Chris Howell worked with music teachers and middle school administrators to figure out a way to make sure the instructors will be able to teach the music classes that best suit their strengths, a “daunting task,” Howell said, that had him coordinating teachers and students over Windham’s four schools.

Under the plan, which would likely bring back a position, 40 minutes every afternoon would be set aside for activities, including music instruction. Full band and orchestra would be offered twice a week each, while full chorus would be offered three times. Sectional lessons would be given every day. The plan allows teachers like Rick Nickerson (chorus) and Charles Oehrtmann (orchestra) to concentrate on their strengths, and keeps dedicated bands in the high school and Grades 5-8, Howell said. The plan would also allow more students to participate, he said.

Concerns over class sizes led to the addition of three teachers back into the budget, at an approximate cost of $60,000 each, salary and benefits. The enrollment in fifth grade at Manchester School in Windham is creeping up, with two classes next year anticipated to have 24 students and two more to have 23. Similar situations are expected next year in the second grade in Raymond and the third grade in Windham.

School Board members agreed that the class sizes were too large, and that money for instruction was a more immediate need to the district than, for example, the laptop initiative.

Even as they added programs and positions back into the budget, some board members said they were anxious about the prospect of low state aid, and worried that all the additions would not make it through to the final budget as they try to create one without a tax increase.

Marge Govoni said all the programs were valuable, and a case could made for each, but the board needed to be careful not to add too much back in, considering the economic climate. Kane Loukas said he would like to see, if not for this budget than for the next one, negotiations open up with the district’s unions to discuss a temporary wage freeze.

Catriona Sangster said the board should perhaps go back through the budget and look at parts that may not have been given enough attention over the last few weeks.

“Are there other areas that we can look at reducing?” she said.

Chairman Toby Pennels ended the meeting by saying that the revised budget will give the board a good idea of what the perfect spending plan might look like, given the tough budgetary circumstances. Once the revenue picture is more clear, the board can revisit its decisions and see if they hold, he said.

“My goal is to have no tax increase,” Pennels said.

Windham-Raymond School Board members Mike Mack, Kane Loukas and Kate Brix listen to testimony on the proposed budget at a public hearing Wednesday in Windham.