While more than 20 school districts across the state saw their budgets approved Tuesday, several will have to go back to the drawing board.
MSAD 15 voters in Gray and New Gloucester rejected a 6% increase by a margin of 19 votes.
Superintendent Chanda Turner said the vote was disappointing but not unexpected.
"Last year, our budget passed by an initial count of nine votes, and it went to a recount, at which point it found that it was passed by 10 votes. It was a very close margin last year. So it was not unexpected that our budget was a very close margin again this year," Turner said.
Turner said that some line items such as health insurance costs, paid family leave, and some salary and benefits totals were estimates and are now finalized. She said the next proposed budget will be more accurate.
"Here's more information that we have, and this is how it changes that bottom line. And then we'll kick off our conversation from there about what additional reductions we want to see," Turner said.
Turner said the school board will meet next Wednesday and restart the budgeting process.
More than half the voters in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel rejected RSU 21's budget. All three towns voted against by a margin of over 350 votes. The proposed budget represented a 5.5% increase.
Other districts approved their budgets but did so without the support of every town in the district.
RSU 14 voters passed a 13% increase in the school budget over last year's, one of the largest increases in the state, due to construction costs for a new middle school. Windham and Raymond voters were split on the budget. Windham voters rejected it by roughly 25 votes while Raymond voters approved it overwhelmingly. The budget passed overall by more than 100 votes.
Cumberland voters supported MSAD 51's $53.82 million school budget, which passed despite North Yarmouth voting against it. Only two of the five towns in MSAD 6 voted in favor of its budget, with Standish and Hollis in support and Buxton, Limington and Frye Island voters all voting against.
Other districts had unique outcomes.
South Portland's school budget passed with 60% of the vote, and eliminates nine staff positions after the initial plan to lay off more than 20 employees was met with resistance. Only 12% of registered voters turned out. Superintendent Tim Matheney announced his resignation this month citing friction with the board over the budget.
Cape Elizabeth voters approved a $86.5 million bond for a new middle school that was rejected each of the last two years. More than half of registered voters turned out to pass the proposal by just over 300 votes. The bond represents a more than 12% tax increase spread over multiple years.
