Windham and Raymond residents Wednesday night approved a $38.44 million budget for the newly formed school district that unites the two towns, adding back into the school board’s proposed budget $14,000 aimed at restoring a series of afterschool clubs.

Voters now have to validate the budget at the polls June 9 with a simple yes or no vote on the total budget. Polls will be open 7 a.m.- 8 p.m. that day in Raymond at the Jordan Small Middle School and in Windham in the auxiliary gym at Windham High School. If passed, the projected tax impact of the budget is an increase of 22 cents per thousand dollars of property value in Windham and 28 cents per thousand dollars of property value in Raymond.

Residents voted to put $14,000 back in the budget in order to pay for stipends for various afterschool clubs, including the Math, Science, Computer and Civil Rights Clubs at the High School, Student Council and Civil Rights Club at Windham Middle School, and the chorus at Windham Primary School, among others. Without stipends, the clubs could not have someone oversee their activities and would thus be shut down. Volunteers are not allowed in those positions due to liability concerns and the language in the teachers’ contract.

The school board, however, does not have to follow the wishes of the voters in spending the money; they will merely decide what to do with the additional funds. Board Chairman Toby Pennels said in cases of extra funding the board would work with administrators to establish priorities, but also said keeping the clubs alive was important.

A handful of residents stood to defend the importance of the afterschool clubs, including Mack Richardson of Windham, who said the afterschool activities give students a chance to fit in and feel welcome at a time when students are often struggling.

“If they do that for two or three students a year, they’re worth every penny,” he said.

An amendment to raise the budget another $45,000 to put educational technicians in each library was defeated by a narrow 77-75 vote. The change was suggested immediately following the vote on the club stipends, and a few residents cautioned the voters not to continue to raise the budget.

Jeff Pierce, a member of the Windham School Department board, said the budget is a complicated item that took months of work by the Windham-Raymond board. It should not be changed lightly, he said.

“I really trust this board and the work they’ve done over the last eight months,” Pierce said. “They’ve thought this through.”

But one resident, an educational technician herself, said that though she trusted the board, the members may not fully appreciate the work that goes in a school library, and how the staff there impacts the students.

At the outset of the discussion over the budget, residents found it difficult to determine what each of the 11 cost centers included. During the budget review, the items were separated by site, meaning the costs of running each school and office were looked at individually.

But the state mandates that the budget be voted on by cost centers, including overall instruction, school administration and transportation, which encapsulates the costs districtwide.

One Windham resident, Barb Maurais, also an educational technician in the district, wanted to suggest an amendment, but it took a few moments for school officials to find the relevant cost center. It should be clearer to voters in which cost center each item and program are found, she said.

“I wish we had a secondary road map,” said Maurais, to applause from the crowd.

The budget meeting, held in the auditorium at Windham High School, began with a presentation by Pennels and fellow board member Jeri Keane, who gave an overview of the consolidation process and the budget formulation.

The goal of the board was to present a budget with little or no tax impact, Keane said. The final budget was $438,399 below this year’s spending total, though the board was unable to keep taxes flat because of the loss of state aid, which fell by $635,748, she said.

Windham-Raymond School Board member Kate Brix casts her vote at Wednesday’s budget meeting in Windham.Raymond Superintendent Sandra Caldwell, right, honored former Raymond School Board members, including Martha Page and Holly Mitchell, at the budget meeting Wednesday for the new Windham-Raymond School District. Caldwell and Windham Superintendent Sandy Prince, who will also lead the new district, thanked the members of the former boards for their work prior to consolidation.