JAY – Finally, there’s a proposed 2007-08 school spending plan.

School Committee members voted Thursday to finalize a $9.96 million budget to go before voters in June. The plan reflects a $504,203 decrease from this year’s budget.

The budget couldn’t be finalized until the state released projected education funding figures, which was done recently. The June 12 date is the third town meeting referendum date the town has scheduled.

A public hearing on the town and school budgets is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, April 23, at the Jay Middle School.

Of the seven warrant articles addressing education, only three will go to voters with “yes” recommendations from both the School Committee and the Budget Committee.

The two panels agree to recommend residents raise and appropriate $6.3 million to get a little more than $1 million from the state for the town’s schools.

They both also agreed to recommend voters use any unanticipated state general purpose aid to reduce local appropriations and to authorize selectmen to appropriate up to $500,000 from the undesignated fund for school purposes to allow the schools to operate until the school budget is approved, if articles fail.

While the School Committee is recommending voters raise and appropriate an additional $2.09 million locally, which exceeds the state’s essential programs and services funding by $1.82 million, the Budget Committee is not giving a recommendation on it because the panel had a tie vote on the article.

The school panel is recommending approval of the additional money citing greater costs for co-curricular activities than designated in the state’s funding model, higher than average salaries and benefits for staff and optimum teacher/pupil ratio staffing levels.

The only article that will not carry a recommendation from the School Committee and a “no” recommendation from the Budget Committee to not pass is the $79,760 requested for the town’s share of the SAD 36/Jay adult education program.

The money is in addition to the $9.96 million package and is not included in the school operation budget. It is a stand-alone article on the warrant.