With $150,000 added by residents to the proposed Regional School Unit 5 budget at the budget meeting May 27, voters will have their last say on what is now a $29,407,203 spending package Tuesday, June 9, at polling places in Freeport, Durham and Pownal.

The budget represents a 7.77 percent overall increase from this year.

Unlike the May 27 meeting, during which voters acted on 23 budget articles, the June 9 vote is on the bottom line only.

A 7.77 percent overall spending increase would equal 8.58 percent in Pownal, or a tax rate addition of $2.96 per $1,000 of valuation. Durham would get an 8.71 percent tax increase for education, which would add $1.45 per $1,000 to the tax rate. In Freeport, the figures are 6.47 percent and $1.02 per $1,000 on the tax rate.

School Board Chairman Nelson Larkins of Freeport explained the $150,000 in increases made last Wednesday night, through two amendments.

“The request was for $80,000 in discretionary funds to be used at Freeport High School for proficiency based education work and $70,000 for another first-grade teacher at Morse Street School to reduce class sizes,” Larkins said Thursday. “These were basically items the board had cut, but administration had deemed reasonable as additional costs.”

Larkins said he hopes people can understand the need for the spending increase.

“I personally hope voters understand we are trying to balance rising costs, while improving our kids’ educations and limiting tax increases. I feel all three communities should vote yes for the budget on June 9,” he said.

More than 200 residents of Freeport, Durham and Pownal attended the May 27 budget meeting at Freeport High School, and voted on all 23 budget items. The board earlier in May had cut $500,000 from the original proposal, which would have meant a 9.15 percent increase.

The budget referendum will be the first since Freeport residents voted against withdrawal from RSU 5 last November, and represents a test of unity within the district. Only once since RSU 5 was formed in 2009 has Durham or Pownal (it was Durham) voted in favor of a budget. In each case, Freeport voters have voted strongly for the budget, swaying the total vote their way.

The budget meeting mirrored that dichotomy. John Egan of Freeport proposed an amendment to article 6, which proposed $12,212,716 for regular instruction. Egan said that $80,000 should be added to the article, for discretionary spending toward the new proficiency-based diplomas that take effect next year at Freeport High School. Some of that money will be used for professional development.

Several Freeport residents followed Egan, though not all agreed with his amendment. Durham resident after Durham resident, however, complained that they could not afford the tax increases they are absorbing each year with RSU 5 budget increases.

When moderator Gary Wood called for a vote, following lengthy debate on article 6, Egan’s amendment passed by about a 3-2 margin, according to a show of hands.

Maddy Vertenten of Freeport said that the stipend should help the high school administration and staff transition to a standards-based education, and Bob Stevens of Freeport agreed.

But Kevin Nadeau, a member of the Durham Budget Committee, argued that not everything can be accomplished in one year. John Primevara of Durham made his own plea, just prior to the vote.

“We can’t keep having double-digit tax increases,” he said. “You’re taxing us right out of our homes. When is the end in sight?”

The school board originally worked with a $28,977,203 budget, or a 9.15 percent overall increase from last year. Co-Superintendents William Michaud and Michael Lafortune had decided to pass the budget as requested by building administrators straight to the board, rather than suggesting modifications.

The spending plan calls for a $219,570 interest payment toward the $14.6 million addition and renovation at Freeport High School, which begins in the fall. It also asks for $260,000 for additional educational technicians; $74,000 for a strategist, who will work with schools and staffs on programming for special education students; $116,000 for two new custodians; and $10,000 for student-based reporting, which is information the school district sends to member towns and the state, to monitor their progress.

The board spent considerable time debating the duties of Lisa Demick, principal at Pownal Elementary School. Demick has been a half-time principal and half-time RSU 5 math strategist in past years, but the board decided to make her a full-time principal, and hire a new part-time math strategist.

The budget also includes $36,000 for a Durham Community School pre-kindergarten program. Other significant new spending includes $56,000 for response to intervention (RTI) at Freeport Middle School; $39,000 for a social worker at Freeport Middle School; and $34,000 for nursing increases at Pownal Elementary School and Morse Street School.

The board had removed the $80,000 in discretionary spending at Freeport High when it reduced the bottom line to $29.34 million on May 6.