LAMOINE – For the third time since May, local voters have voted to approve a proposed 2008-09 budget for the school.

Meeting Thursday evening at the fire station, approximately 90 voters overwhelmingly supported the proposed $2.24 million budget, according to School Union 92 Superintendent James Boothby. The overall approval was broken down into several votes on various aspects of the budget. The most people voting against any part of the budget were nine, while the fewest voting for any part was 78, Boothby said.

On Tuesday the town will hold a third validation referendum vote on the budget, according to Boothby. State law requires that any municipal school budget be approved both at an open town meeting and at a subsequent validation referendum before it becomes official.

The validation referendum voting will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Lamoine Town Hall, at the intersection of Routes 184 and 204, he said.

Tuesday’s vote will be the sixth vote held on the school budget in the past four months.

Lamoine previously held votes on a $2.3 million school budget at town meetings on May 21 and on July 9, and each time the budget was approved. However, at each subsequent validation referendum, the budget was rejected.

Boothby said Friday that Lamoine officials reduced the latest budget proposal by changing the hours of several positions so that they will provide only three days of work each week rather than four. The principal, a music position and a physical education position each were reduced from four days a week to three, he said. The Lamoine School Committee also decided to reduce funding for professional conferences and travel and for books, periodicals and supplies, among other things, Boothby said.

“They’ve worked hard to make adjustments,” Boothby said. “This budget is an outcome of listening to all sides of the community.”

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