PERU – Less than 10 percent of the town’s 1,100 registered voters turned out at Monday’s school budget referendum, agreeing to raise $927,095 for 2003-04.

By 6:30 p.m., only 70 voters had visited polls at the Rockemeka Grange, Town Clerk Vera L. Parent said. Polls were open from noon to 8 p.m. A total of 84 people voted.

“We had a rush at the end, but it was a very light turnout,” Parent said Monday night. “It’s sad. This is the school budget. We we’re hoping for a better turnout.”

Despite the low turnout, all eight referendum articles passed by a large margin. Voting results are:

• 65-19 to raise $91,457 to fund the Regional Vocational Budget and adult education.

•67-17 to appropriate $1,717,833.53 from the foundation allocation for school purposes for the budget year and raise $698,150.57 as the local share of the foundation allocation.

• 68-16 to appropriate $6,488 from the debt service allocation for school purposes for 2003-04 and raise $2,980.59 as the local share of debt service.

• 63-21 to raise $134,506.63 in additional local funds for fiscal year 2003-04.

•67-16 to authorize the school committee to spend $2,080,285.16 for the fiscal year beginning Tuesday, July 1, 2003, from the foundation allocation, debt service allocation, unexpended balances, tuition receipts, local appropriations, state subsidy, special warrant articles and other receipts for support of schools.

• 69-15 to spend $1,023,190.37 in general purpose aid (state subsidy and debt service) as provided by the Maine State Legislature.

• 75-9 to allow the school to accept and spend funds from insurance settlements, federal, state and/or corporate grants, gifts and other unlimited receipts for support of schools.

• 69-15 to appropriate and authorize the School Committee to spend $14,000 from the bus Capital Reserve Fund, previously established as down payment on a new 84-passenger Bluebird diesel bus to replace the school’s 1988 GMC bus.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com