BINGHAM — The school board’s regular meeting will take place tonight as scheduled, but rather than look to the upcoming school year with a new budget, board members will have to work on another round of budget meetings — and possibly budget cuts.

School Administrative District 13 voters in Bingham and Moscow rejected the proposed $3.1 million budget for 2012-13 in referendum voting Tuesday.

The proposed spending package failed by 40 votes — 153-113. Residents rejected the same spending package by four votes in a June 12 referendum.

It was the second time district voters approved the spending at a public budget meeting only to reject it in the privacy of the ballot box.

The budget failed in Bingham 90-68 and in Moscow 63-45.

“We’ll get through this,” Superintendent Virginia Rebar said Wednesday. “The board certainly will make some decision about what the next steps are. I’m sure they are going to try to take action that will have the least negative impact on educational programs.”

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In the meantime, the district will operate on the $3.1 million approved at the first budget meeting in June, as mandated by state law.

The total that each town was asked to raise in local taxes for the upcoming year’s budget was $696,627 for Bingham and $933,352 for Moscow.

The total in local taxes for the coming year would have been $324,600 more than is in the current budget.

Donald Beane, first selectman for Moscow, this week released tax information based on the $3.1 million school budget, the county tax and the municipal share.

Beane said the property tax rate for Moscow will increase from $16.90 per $1,000 in assessed value to $17.50. The owner of a home valued at $100,000 will see a $60 increase from the $1,690 paid this year.

Those numbers reflect the $330,946 raised at the annual Town Meeting, $198,651 for county taxes and $863,648 for the school assessment, based on the town’s calendar-year budget.

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Bingham First Selectman Steven Steward said he expects property taxes to go from the current $18.10 per $1,000 in assessed value to $21.10, meaning a spike of $300 in taxes on a $100,000 home.

“The school budget is what’s killing us,” Steward said. “That’s a huge part of it.”

He said the school board needs do more work on the budget or they can expect the same negative vote the next time around.

“If there’s no effort made to at least try to cut a little bit more off the budget, I think that’s the result you’re going to end up with,” Steward said. “They need to make an effort. They need to find some changes somewhere. That’s their job, not ours.”

Rebar said the region’s economy has made residents wary of tax increases.

“It’s just not a good time. It’s a struggle for many districts, and we’re one of them. People here are generally very supportive of education, but they also are struggling with surviving in terms of economics,” she said.

The board plans to meet at 7 tonight at Quimby Middle School in Bingham.


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