BRUNSWICK

Brunswick residents will take to the polls Tuesday in order to vote on the school district’s 2015-16 spending plan.

Voting takes place 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Brunswick Junior High School, located at 65 Columbia Ave.

School expenditures total $36.5 million, of which $23.3 million will be paid for by local taxes.

When combined with municipal and county spending, Brunswick taxpayers would be faced with a 3.5 percent hike in their tax bill if they approve the school budget in Tuesday’s validation referendum.

That means the tax rate will increase from $27.40 per $1,000 of assessed value to $28.36.

School spending was still about 2 percent more than the current 2014-15 fiscal year, both in terms of its overall spending request, and in terms of the amount to be covered by local property taxes.

The spending proposal is “sensitive to the impact of expense increases, while still providing for quality education in the town of Brunswick,” said school board member Rich Ellis.

If voters approve the school budget, it would mark the end of a long and at times contentious budget process.

Eyebrows were raised when, before the school board submitted its budget proposal to the town council, Town Manager John Eldridge suggested reducing the school district’s expenditures by $750,000 in order to make school spending increases more palatable to members of the council.

The board wound up reducing its requested expenditures by about $400,000.

However, Ellis said he was in full support of “a more collaborative process” between the council and school board.

“I preferred getting at least some suggested direction from the council in advance of making a decision,” said Ellis. “A year ago, it seemed that feedback came late in the process that resulted in last-minute changes (to the budget) that were not as well researched.”

Superintendent Paul Perzanoski praised the “collaborative nature” of the budget process between his office, the town council and Eldridge in helping to form the school budget.

“It’s been the most collaborative in nature that we’ve had in a long time,” said Perzanoski. “I hoped that this would generate positive feelings in the community of Brunswick.”

When & where

VOTING TAKES place Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Brunswick Junior High School, located at 65 Columbia Ave.