LISBON

Voters for a second time in two months rejected the Lisbon Town Council’s proposed school budget on Tuesday by a 332-vote margin, which means the school committee must submit another budget to the council.

There were 473 opposed and 141 in favor of the school budget proposed by the town council at the budget validation referendum on Tuesday. In a non-binding advisory question, 413 voters opposed to the budget circled “too low” as the reason compared to 56 who circled “too high.”

The council has raised concerns with the school committee’s proposed use of bond proceeds from the recently completed track project and the gym project nearing completion. Sticking to its directive that the school committee cut $600,000 from additional local funds, the council made reductions to the initial proposed budget in May. That budget was defeated by voters on June 9 by a vote of 790-308 and 659 of those voting

“no” did so because the budget was too low.

However, the council again made reductions to the second budget the school committee presented on July 21, extracting use of excess bond proceeds. The proposed $15.47 million Lisbon School Department spending plan was reduced to $15,052,845 for 2015-16. This proposed school budget represented a $114,306 increase from the 2014-15 budget but would lower the amount of money raised through taxes by $177,763.

Superintendent Richard Green estimated following the council vote on July 21 that another approximately

$417,000 in additional cuts will be needed if voters approve the council’s adopted budget on Tuesday.

According to state statute, if a budget is not approved prior to July 1 when the new fiscal year starts, the latest budget approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and submitted to the voters for validation at a referendum is automatically considered the budget for operational expenses for the ensuing year until a final budget is approved. In Lisbon, this would be the budget adopted by the town council on July 21 until another budget is legally adopted.

Statute also states that “if the voters do not validate the budget approved in the regional school unit budget meeting at the budget validation referendum vote, the regional school unit board shall hold another regional school unit budget meeting … at least 10 days but no longer than 45 days after the referendum to vote on a budget approved by the regional school unit board.

“The budget approved at the regional school unit budget meeting must be submitted to the voters for validation at referendum in accordance with this section,” the law continues. “The process must be repeated until a budget is approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and validated at referendum.”

The vote

THERE WERE 473 opposed and 141 in favor of the school budget proposed by the town council at the budget validation referendum on Tuesday. In a non-binding advisory question, 413 voters opposed to the budget circled “too low” as the reason compared to 56 who circled “too high.”