AUGUSTA – In hopes of lowering property taxes, Mainers said yes to Question 1, now a law which says the state must pay more of the K-12 education costs.

According to preliminary voter results compiled by the Bangor Daily News, Question 1 won with 55 percent of the vote, while 45 percent voted no. As of midnight Wednesday with 80 percent of votes in, preliminary figures showed that 79,045 voters statewide said yes compared to 65,168 who said no.

In Androscoggin County towns such as Minot, Greene and Turner, voters overwhelmingly said yes in large margins. However, Lewiston bucked that trend voting no, but with a small margin: 2,282 to 2,256.

“The people have spoken. This is long overdue from the Reform Act of 1984,” said Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque, who was pleased with the vote. He recalled that the 1984 education reform law intended the state to pay 55 percent of education, “but it’s never reached that on a permanent basis.” A law just passed by the Legislature to increase education spending “is no different than what we had before,” because lawmakers spent no money to back that up, he said.

Gov. John Baldacci needs to call lawmakers back into session before the November property tax cap referendum to figure out how the state will pay the extra $250 million a year, Levesque said, adding that a serious look at tax reform is needed.

During the campaign supporters said Question 1 would both help education and lower property taxes, while opponents pointed out there was nothing in the language behind the question that mandated the extra money be spent to lower property taxes. The Lewiston City Council pledged to spend most of its extra money on lowering taxes by 6.1 percent.

Voters said yes looking to both pay for education and for property tax relief, Levesque observed. “We’ve burdened property taxpayers with mandates schools faced.” When asked will Lewiston homeowners see reductions in their tax bills, Levesque said he expects they will, but first the state has to figure out how to pay for it, and lawmakers have to finish work on the new school funding formula. “There’s a tremendous amount of work done done.”

When asked how the state will pay for Question 1, Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, said Question 1 backers have indicated flexibility so that the law would not take effect immediately.

Phil Harriman of Tax Cap Yes said passage of Tuesday’s referendum question is a clear indicator that after years of broken promises from elected officials “are ready to take the matter of tax relief into their own hands.” The next step, he said, is passage of the tax cap in November, a measure brought to the ballot by Carol Palesky.

Statewide voter turnout was light Tuesday. At the Lewiston Multipurpose Center, voter workers often outnumbered voters.

Richard Mercier said voted against Question 1. “The taxes in the state are high enough. They should find another way” of funding education, Mercier said. “I don’t think this will lower our property taxes if it passes.”

Noreen Comeau said she too voted no. “This bill does not say it will give property tax relief. That’s what the propaganda says,” she said. Municipalities would get more money “and they can use it any way they want.”

But others, including Tina Rea, voted yes. “I’m hoping that property taxes will be reduced,” Rea said. “Hopefully they’re not going to keep (taxes) the same and decide to spend more money.”

Roger Brown also voted yes to show state lawmakers he’s unhappy they didn’t act on property tax relief before adjourning. “They’re just sitting on their duffs collecting money,” Brown complained, adding he wants property tax relief. “It’s very frustrating. We shouldn’t have to be going through this.”