CLIFTON – Disturbed by a perceived lack of control over the school district’s budget, leaders of this small Penobscot County town got busy Tuesday drawing up a petition that they hope will change the budget approval process for SAD 63 (Holden, Eddington, Clifton).

It will take about 270 signatures, or 10 percent of the voters in the last election from the three-town school district, to force a referendum on the matter, and Clifton Selectman Jerry Freeman predicted the signatures could be gathered quickly.

Selectmen, working with other towns in the district, hope to have the signatures certified by the time of their next meeting in January. The School Committee then would have to order a referendum on the issue that has been bubbling for months.

The move is a reaction to the SAD 63 school board’s refusal Monday, Dec. 2, to simply allow a referendum vote on changing the budget process.

All three towns had requested the referendum. If approved, the process would result in an alternative school budget scenario that would involve a two-part budget approval process. It would require a district-wide budget meeting followed by a referendum vote on the school district’s budget each year, a process that might empower voters but could be confusing, according to school officials.

“The board did not approve the request of the three towns. They felt that they didn’t want to go into the process at this time,” said Ray Hart, SAD 63 superintendent. On Tuesday, Hart envisioned a budget-approval process that would provide voters with less information than they have now and a process that could be a logistical nightmare, he said.

As things stand, the education budget is set during the district business meeting, usually held in May. If the district adopts the new budget validation referendum system, school officials would set the budget that then would be submitted to voters for approval by referendum three days later. If member towns approve the budget, it would go into effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year. If residents reject the budget, it would go back to school officials for adjustment. Another referendum then would be held. The process could ping-pong several times before a budget proposal is adopted, according to Hart.

Yet, Freeman and others believe the process could increase public participation in budgeting.

SAD 63 residents have seen increases in their tax bills because of various factors, most of which point to the schools. This concerns town managers in Holden and Eddington, yet it is the perceived intimidation a voter may feel at the district budget meeting, not the tax increase, that irks Freeman.

He said annual budget meetings are filled with people who have a vested interest in passing the budget, from teachers to “principals who stand in the corner.”

“I want a structure so people can have a realistic chance to vote on the budget and have some sway on it,” Freeman said.

An increase in local valuation plus a decrease in pupils has nicked the amount of money the state gives to SAD 63. Costs for schools this year have resulted in a $1 mill rate increase in Clifton, close to a $2 increase in the Holden mill rate and about a $1.50 mill rate increase in Eddington.

SAD 63 currently has 964 students. Two years ago the school system had 1,060. Of this number, 602 are elementary school pupils and 362 are high school students who attend various high schools on a tuition basis. The school’s budget for the 2002-03 academic year is $7,595,922. An increase of 4.82 percent over last year.