Residents of Cape Elizabeth will have a chance at a public hearing on Monday to weigh in on the town finance committee’s recommendation to cap the school budget at a 3 percent increase.

The finance committee voted 4-3 to limit the school board to a 3 percent increase for the 2007-2008 school budget at a meeting April 25. The final vote came after a debate in which committee members discussed the importance of compromise and sticking to their convictions.

School Board Chairwoman Kathy Ray said she wasn’t surprised by the finance committee’s decision, though she said the 3.24 percent increase Superintendent Alan Hawkins presented to the committee was “a very conservative number.” The difference between Hawkins’ budget and one with a 3 percent increase is $43,804.

Hawkins said he has not yet revisited the budget and does not plan to do so until a final vote has been made. However, he did say that if a 3 percent increase passed he would have to consider eliminating jobs.

Members of the finance committee, which is made up of the entire town council, supported increases that ranged from 2.8 percent to 3.2 percent.

Jim Rowe made a proposal early in the meeting for councilors to join him in supporting a 3 percent budget, saying that though it may seem like an arbitrary number, it felt right to him.

“The budget requires some intuitiveness,” Rowe said. He spoke directly to each of his fellow committee members, asking them to compromise. He said that a 3 percent increase would “show that we’re all at least willing to sacrifice something.”

Though no one jumped at Rowe’s proposal, Councilor Paul McKenney gave his own reason for wanting to allow a 3.2 percent increase. He talked about the success of his children as something he attributes in part to the Cape Elizabeth school system.

“I feel very strongly that we need to maintain the quality of our school system,” McKenney said. “I would like to support this budget.”

Councilor Sara Lennon also supported the budget the superintendent presented.

“They worked incredibly long and hard,” Lennon said. “This already is a compromise.”

The first budget Hawkins proposed reflected a 5.2 percent increase over the 2006-2007 budget. After reviewing the budget, the school board eventually voted on a 3.8 percent increase. By deciding to send out to voters bonding for more items, such as gym scoreboards, classroom furniture and custodial equipment, the increase in the operating budget dropped down to 3.24.

Lennon said she felt uncomfortable voting again on what the superintendent and school board have already scrutinized, calling the relationship between the board and the council “a power game that’s unnecessary.” Lennon said she believed that the council could “make the whole town happy” by approving the budget as it is.

“There’s so much teeth-gnashing and resentment at this council,” she said. “It’s not just about accounting and financing and math. It’s about pleasing the most people.”

Councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta said she thought many people in town would be unhappy if councilors approved the budget the schools had requested. She said she learned that from being on the council for several years.

“There’s a lot more to the town than I realized,” she said. “There’s a lot more breadth of opinion.”

Swift-Kayatta was one of three current councilors, along with Mary Ann Lynch and David Backer, who took a pledge three years ago not to allow an increase in the budget that exceeds the cost of living, determined by the consumer price index.

“This is year three of the three-year pledge,” Backer said. “It doesn’t seem to be a time to deviate from it.”

Earlier this year, the consumer price index was 2.5 percent – a number that the council stuck to for the municipal budget. The latest reports show the consumer price index at 2.8 percent, which Lynch, Swift-Kayatta and Backer all said they would consider allowing the school budget to increase by while still feeling as though they stuck to their pledge.

While Swift-Kayatta and Backer both said their reason for supporting a 2.8 percent increase was to keep the pledge, Lynch was also driven by the potential legislative plan for consolidation, which would have Cape Elizabeth join other towns in one larger district.

Within that plan, there will be an option for schools to apply for exemption. Lynch said Cape Elizabeth would probably apply to be exempted from having to consolidate. The town would argue that it has demonstrated fiscal restraint and should not be forced to join together with more expensive school districts. Lynch said keeping the budget under 3 percent would give Cape Elizabeth a stronger case.

Lynch said she agreed with a point Rowe made – the $37,000 that separates 2.8 percent and 3 percent is not a lot of money in comparison to the budget as a whole. However, that money could end up making a difference when it comes to consolidation.

“I want to make sure you have the best case,” Lynch said to the school board, who was present at the meeting. “That’s why I’m debating $37,000 in a $29 million budget.”

Councilor Cynthia Dill, whom Rowe called “our two-headed hydra” because she is both a councilor and a state representative, said she didn’t think that $37,000 would make a difference in Augusta, but that eventual consolidation should be considered.

“Something is going to happen with education,” Dill said. “It is a factor we need to keep in mind.”

After each councilor had spoken, Dill made a motion to “compromise” with a 2.9 percent budget, which Lennon said was not a compromise at all, because there were two members who still supported a 3.2 percent increase.

Lynch seconded the motion, and Dill and Lynch were the only two members to vote for a 2.9 percent increase. McKenney followed Dill’s failed motion with a motion to approve a 3 percent increase. Dill voted with McKenney, Lennon and Rowe to pass the motion, 4-3.

When the finance committee adjourned, the members switched hats and started a council meeting, at which they voted to set the public hearing on the total budget of $29.2 million, which reflects an estimated tax rate increase of 1.92 percent.

The public hearing will be held on at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 7, at the town hall. A budget adoption meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 14.