Ballot question

"Do you favor approving the Lewiston School Department's budget for the 2008-09 school year that was adopted at the April 29, 2008 City Council budget meeting?"

Where to vote:

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center, 145 Birch St.

The budget:

• Proposed spending: $45.7 million

• Increase over last year: $1.5 million, mostly due to higher salaries, health benefits and fuel costs

• State aid for K-12: $30.17 million, a $705,633 increase (about 2.3 percent over 2007-08)

• Increase in state aid for English as a Learning Language: $215,000

• 2007-08 budget surplus: $540,000 (used to balance proposed budget)

• Property taxes: $14.5 million after a $347,411 transfer from the schools to the city (no increase over 2007-08)

• Average tax bill: $2,268 for a $100,000 home (school share, $748)

Information

Printouts of the budget will be taped to the insides of voting booths, showing 12 areas of proposed spending: regular instruction; special education; career and technical education; other instruction; student and staff support; system administration; school administration; transportation and buses; facilities maintenance; debt service and other commitments; all other expenditures; and the total cost of public education for K-12.

What if the vote is no?

Under state law, voters have to approve the school budget. If they say no Tuesday, the budget review process will begin again. School officials would adopt a new budget, the council would vote on it and it would be presented to voters at a June 10 referendum. If voters say no again, the process would continue until voters adopted a budget.

The schools would rely on the most recent budget approved by the council if they couldn't get voters to pass one before the next fiscal year begins on July 1. The working budget would be put aside when voters approved a final budget.