VEAZIE, Maine — Residents will have a second opportunity to adopt a 2015-16 school budget after the first proposal was shot down at the polls last month.
During a validation referendum June 9, residents voted 222 to 93 to defeat the $4,106,347 school budget approved earlier at their annual town meeting.
The new budget figure headed to voters reflects a decrease of about $47,000 from the $99,000 decrease that a majority of town councilors wanted to see, Town Manager Mark Leonard, who also is Veazie’s police chief, said earlier this week.
Town councilors approved the new version of the proposed school budget Monday night in a vote of 3-2, with Chairwoman Tammy Perry, David King and Robert Rice in favor and Karen Walker and Chris Bagley opposed.
The Town Council originally wanted the local share flat funded at $2,714,264, while the School Committee’s initial budget asked for $2,915,342 from residents. The new version would require a local share of $2,766,500, Leonard said.
The new school budget plan will be the subject of a public hearing Monday, July 13, at Veazie Community School, Leonard said.
The next step in the budget approval process comes Tuesday, July 28, when residents will be asked to approve it during a special town meeting.
Residents then will vote on the budget during a validation referendum of the budget Aug. 4, Leonard said. If residents fail to validate the budget, the Town Council and School Committee will need to determine a new budget proposal.
BDN writer Dawn Gagnon contributed to this report.