JAY — RSU 73 residents voted 36-5 Tuesday to approve a revised $18.73 million budget to operate schools in 2012-13.

The spending plan has another hurdle to pass before it is official.

The package goes to residents in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls in a yes or no referendum vote in each town Tuesday, July 24. The polls in each town will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In Jay, residents will vote at the Jay Community Building at the Spruce Mountain Middle School. In Livermore, voters will cast ballots at the Livermore Fire Station, and  Livermore Falls residents will vote at the Town Office.

A proposed $18.8 million budget made it to the referendum stage June 12 but was rejected overwhelmingly by residents of all three towns.

School directors went back and approved nearly $80,000 in additional cuts on top of the $203,000 in reductions made by voters at the district’s open town meeting style school budget vote in early June.

Nearly 50 people turned out to vote Tuesday on 17 articles pertaining to the proposed budget, which reflects a 1.8 percent increase, or $330,589 more than last year’s $18.4 million budget.

Lawyer Clint Boothby of Livermore moderated the 90-minute meeting.

A couple of attempts were made to reduce articles but all were soundly rejected.

The closest tally came in a 35-12 vote to approve raising $2.2 million more than the state’s allotted school funding formula.

If the budget is approved along with $40,000 in additional funds needed to be raised by each town for adult education program, the taxes to be raised per town are $8.97 million in Jay, $1.73 million in Livermore and $1.42 million in Livermore Falls.

dperry@sunjournal.com