In addition to their water views, Cape Elizabeth, Lamoine, Sabattus and Monmouth have something in common these days.

Voters in those towns have not passed school budgets for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Lamoine, Sabattus and Cape Elizabeth are preparing for their third school budget referendums.

Monmouth is getting ready for its fourth.

Under the state’s new school-district consolidation law, voters in each town and city must approve school spending plans. There is no official list of towns that haven’t passed budgets, but Steve Bowen of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think tank, has kept track by reading news from around the state.

On Tuesday, Bowen’s list included Monmouth, Sabattus, Lamoine, Cape Elizabeth and Lubec. Lubec came off the list Tuesday night when the town passed a school budget.

Communities that have had trouble getting their budgets passed have taxpayers who suspect their money isn’t being spent wisely, or who don’t understand the budget, said David Connerty-Marin, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Education.

School leaders who reach out and make their case to voters are more likely to see budgets pass, Connerty-Marin said. One example is SAD 16 in Hallowell and Farmingdale, which in addition to the required public meetings, sent out mailings and talked about the budget where taxpayers were gathered: at meetings and sports events.

The fact that the new law requires a two-step process – a town meeting and a referendum – means fewer turn out for the meeting to learn about the budget, said retired Monmouth math teacher David Heckman. That can contribute to voters not understanding, he said.

This time around, Monmouth school officials have cut the budget so there would be no property tax increase. One of the more difficult cuts, Heckman said, was the elimination of a teaching assistant for special education.

Maine Heritage Policy Center’s Bowen said the law needs some tinkering. Voters didn’t have enough information to make decisions, he said. Ballots didn’t indicate the school budget amounts and some voters were confused. And there should have been better information showing voters how their school spending compared to other parts of Maine, Bowen said.

Rep. Scott Lansley, R-Sabattus, said more people need to show up at meetings to understand what they’re voting on. Better notice and more advertising is needed, he said. But one problem with small town politics is that when someone speaks for less spending, he or she is labeled “anti-education,” Lansley said. That keeps some people away.

Often in communities having trouble agreeing on a school budget, two sides form, those who want higher school spending and those who don’t.

As unpleasant as it may be for Sabattus and the other towns, Lansley praised the law mandating voter approval of school spending. School costs often make up a majority of property taxes and taxpayers need to better understand how school costs affect tax bills, he said.

School districts live in a world where voters have the final say, Bowen said. “This gives people control.”