NEWPORT – Towns in SAD 48 defeated the school department’s most recent budget proposal Thursday in the district’s second referendum vote on the 2003-2004 school budget.

Five of six towns reported results by press time, with all six referendum questions failing by resounding margins. The referendum failed by a 3-to-1 margin in Newport and by a 2-to-1 margin in Palmyra.

“I guess we have to find out what the public really wants, and that is what the budget is going to end up looking like,” SAD 48 Superintendent William Braun said Thursday night.

The referendum proposal included an additional $100,000 in cuts from the last proposal, which was rejected in June 2-to-1.

The most recent cuts included the loss of part-time employees and athletic teams at the high school and elementary levels. Cuts also decreased money available for supplies and repairs, Braun said. The first round of cuts deleted $293,646 from the budget.

Braun said he hopes the board will be able to introduce a third round of cuts in the next two weeks.

“We’ve already cut so deep. It’s sad to think about going any further,” he said. “The only cuts we can make are programs and positions at this point. We still have to pay the electric bill.”

A budget shortfall of $800,000 was identified during the budget process this spring. The shortfall is mostly the result of salary and insurance increases, Braun said.

Health insurance for the district’s 480 employees increased by more than $500,000 from the previous year.

Braun said he thinks that people encouraging the towns to vote no in order to “send a message to the state Legislature” that it is not providing enough state funding to the schools swayed voter decisions.

“That’s a great message, but when we can’t open the schools for the children this fall, what kind of message are we sending then?” Braun said. “Personally, I don’t think the state is going to care if the budget passes in SAD 48 or not.”

The board may decide to resolve the budget issue through a town meeting rather than a referendum election when the next proposal is made. The school district had held a districtwide meeting on July 22 to discuss the referendum questions.