Preston cuts $100,000 from school budget

Preston — In the wake of last week's referendum defeat of the proposed $11.3 million school budget, the Board of Finance voted Tuesday to cut another $100,000 from the budget and send the new total to a town meeting and second referendum.

The board voted 4-2, with members Andrew Bilodeau and Kenneth Zachem against, to reduce the school budget to $11,238,250.

Prior to the first referendum, the Board of Finance had cut $56,647, or 0.5 percent, from the initial requested school budget.

“I think this is a reasonable budget, and something the Board of Education can live with,” Board of Finance Chairman Norman Gauthier said.

School board Chairwoman Jan Clancy called the cut “painful.”

She said if voters approve the reduction, the board's main goal would be to try to absorb the cut without losing staff or student programs.

The Board of Selectmen is expected to schedule a second town meeting and referendum date at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The finance board will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Friday to review revised state revenues and incorporate the loss of $53,824 in state grants into the budget and to decide whether to change the amount proposed to use from the town surplus fund to reduce the tax rate.

The board previously voted to use $400,000 from the town's healthy $2.4 million surplus fund to reduce the proposed tax rate increase.

Prior to the school budget defeat, the combined school, town government, debt service and capital budgets would have required a tax rate of 24.8 mills, a 1.8 percent increase over this year.