MADISON — An $11 million budget for the coming year passed Tuesday by just four votes in a School Administrative District 59 validation referendum.

The final tally was 112-108, with voters in Athens defeating the measure 54-5.

The new budget takes effect July 1. The impact of the amended budget on taxpayers in each town is still to be determined. This year’s budget is $11.15 million.

Athens school board member Karen Corson said she hopes the school board will take note of the Athens vote.

“I think the votes speak loudly and I hope the board listens when it comes to deciding where to spend the money that got voted back into the budget,” she said.

Voters at the annual budget meeting April 24 returned $116,814 to the regular education line of the budget, leaving all other lines intact, including administration, transportation and special education. A physical education position and foreign language position that were cut were put back at the April budget meeting, according to SAD 59 Superintendent Todd LeRoy.

LeRoy noted that besides the loss of a teaching position at the elementary school in Athens, a position was cut from the budget through retirement at the elementary school in Madison, as well as one teacher at the junior high school and two at the high school.

An administrative assistant position was cut as was one bus driver to make the budget palatable to voters, LeRoy said.

The budget for 2012-13 was developed in part to make up for the loss of the town of Starks, which voted to secede from the district in favor of the Farmington-based Mt. Blue Regional School District. Starks voters were eligible to vote in Tuesday’s referendum because they remain part of the district until June 30.

Budget adjustments leading up to Tuesday’s vote included moving the central office, ending home economics and eliminating some bus runs.

The school board previously considered replacing custodians and bus drivers with subcontractors but decided against it. It also briefly considered moving seventh and eighth graders at Athens Elementary School to Madison Area Junior High School but decided not to.

The school board also ended the alternative education program, which helps students earn credits for classes they failed or need to earn. The federal money for the program is not available after this year, so stopping the program will not save money but will prevent the district from having to spend it.

“I believe that the board put forward a very strong budget, and I believe the recommendations by the board were appropriate,” LeRoy said. “I just think the folks from Athens stood up and they made good arguments that if money is going to be put back it should be put back for the elementary school position at Athens.”

LeRoy said there is no word yet which teaching position is to be eliminated at the Athens school. There is the possibility of multi-age classrooms, he said.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

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