SABATTUS – The voters taketh away – and the voters giveth back.

At a special meeting Saturday morning, voters restored about a half-million dollars they cut from the town’s school budget two weeks ago.

That means the School Committee may not have to take drastic action contemplated in the wake of the earlier cuts. Those actions included:

• closing Sabattus Primary School;

• merging the primary school with the middle school; and/or

• cutting guidance and health services; special education and gifted and talented programs.

Committee members are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss those possible actions.

After viewing a PowerPoint presentation, voters decided to give the schools all but $75,000 of the nearly $6 million budget committee members had asked for.

The town recently had been given back interest it had paid during construction of Sabattus Central School, helping the bottom line. The effect on the tax rate should be a slight drop, said Robert Gayton Jr., a member of the committee.

Voters at the regular town meeting last month cut about $500,000 from the recommended budget. That meeting was held a day after residents received their new property valuations. Dissenters circulated a petition shortly after that meeting. They collected more than 100 signatures to reconsider the earlier cut. At least 125 registered voters were needed at Saturday’s special meeting. More than 300 showed up.

“I’m pretty happy the taxpayers came out and supported the budget,” Gayton said.