Sabattus – Three weeks after a $6 million school request was slashed by more than a half-million dollars, voters will get another chance to consider the school budget, town officials have decided.

The budget situation was discussed Tuesday night at a special meeting of the School Committee, which is making plans for dealing with the budget reduction. Among the items on the table: Possibly closing the Sabattus Primary School and merging it with Sabattus Central School.

Earlier this month, voters agreed to give the schools $570,000 less than the requested $6 million. The cut means the school department will get $300,000 less for the next school year than it did this year.

A petition was presented for a reconsideration vote on the school budget. The signatures of more than 100 townspeople were later presented at the selectmen’s meeting. They scheduled a budget reconsideration vote for Saturday, June 9. That will happen at 9 a.m. at the Sabattus Central School. A quorum of 125 residents will be necessary to bring up the issue.

After voters cut the budget request, the School Committee was forced to consider what it could afford to let go. One possible expense on the chopping block: the Sabattus Primary School.

The Primary School, which serves grades K-2, could be consolidated within the Sabattus Central School, according to a report from school staff.

The School Committee was presented with the list of budget ideas from the staff, which suggested possible cuts, with consolidation among them. Other ideas included cuts in guidance and health services, special education, gifted and talented programs, extracurricular activities, and courses such as art, music, and physical education.

A consolidation would not require additional classrooms, according to staff, however, K-2 classrooms would takeover the space reserved for art and music programs.

“This board has to deal with the cuts the community gave it,” said School Committee member Robert Gayton Jr.

The committee sees the cuts as a last resort, and members are putting the budget in front of voters again in an effort to avoid having to follow through on the proposed reductions.

Still, not everyone agreed with the committee’s approach, seeing the cuts as an ultimatum to the town.

“Saying you are going to shut down a school, that’s a scare tactic,” one person said.

A recent revaluation caused property values to rise dramatically, making for a tax-conscious population not eager to pass higher budgets. Nearly all town departments had their budgets cut in the wake of the rising property taxes.

The School Committee wants another chance to persuade voters that its budget is necessary.