FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 voters narrowly approved a $32 million budget Tuesday by 999-892 in a referendum vote in each of the 10 towns.

It was the second attempt for the district to pass a budget.

Six towns favored the budget, and four towns opposed it.

The closest vote came in Temple, which rejected the budget by three votes. The widest spread of votes was in Farmington, which approved the budget by 239 votes.

“I am very pleased with the support and want to assure everyone that voted no, we heard your concerns, we learned from your suggestions and will continue to work very hard to earn your vote for the next budget process,” Superintendent Tom Ward said Tuesday night.

Farmington voters passed the budget in a vote of 472-233. Wilton voters approved it by 208-164 vote as did Weld voters in a 19-6 vote. The vote in Industry was 51-45 in favor of the budget. Starks voters approved the budget in a 47-8 vote and so did Vienna by a 28-17 vote.

Chesterville voters rejected the budget by a 29-96 vote. Temple voters narrowly opposed the budget in a 54-57 vote. New Sharon voters also rejected the budget by a 72-196 vote. The budget failed in New Vineyard by a 19-70 vote.

The spending plan for 2015-16 is about $1 million, or 3 percent, more than last year.

It is the second attempt for the district to approve a budget.

Voters rejected a proposed $32.25 million budget, which was a $1.3 million, or 3.9 percent, increase from 2014-15, in a 741-1,045 vote at the polls in June.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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