Residents listen Monday evening to a presentation on the Lewiston school budget at The Green Ladle at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center. The session is one day before voters head to the polls for the third time to pass a budget. Frida Zeinali/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Superintendent Jake Langlais and the School Committee hosted a public town hall Monday evening at The Green Ladle culinary school to discuss Tuesday’s third vote on a spending package.

“The further we go along in this process, the more we will get to a place where, regardless of the community vote, we will have to freeze or pause things,” Langlais said. “Because if we don’t have an approved budget, we have to anticipate that we can’t move forward.”

Voters rejected the first proposal of $111.5 million and the second for $110.43 million. The latest is $109.64 million, according to Lewiston City Council’s document sent to the City Clerk.

Following a presentation of what goes into the district’s current and proposed budget, Langlais opened the floor to questions and comments.

Steve Morgan of Ward 7 suggested voters should be able to state the reason for their choice.

“On the questionnaire, someplace in the voting booth, they said ‘do you believe the budget’s too high, too low, or not high enough?’, I think that should be almost part of the question,” Morgan said. “If it gets voted down again, wouldn’t you like to know that some of the people are voting it down not because it’s too high, but because it’s too low.”

“I’d like to see more money on the table (for education). If you increase my taxes, it won’t bother me again,” Morgan continued. “I do have empathy for the people that are on fixed income. I’d like to see them somehow get supplemented to offset that.”

Lewiston Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais addresses the public Monday evening on the budget for 2024-25 at The Green Ladle at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center. The session is one day before voters head to the polls for the third time to pass a budget. Frida Zeinali/Sun Journal

After comparing the property tax rates from the proposed budget and the last year’s approved budget, former city councilor Linda Scott drew attention to the lower rate — from $1.34 to $1.16.

“The school budget now is not the cost of the tax increase everybody’s freaking out over, because we are lower now than we were last year. I think that needs to be reiterated over and over again,” Scott said.

Ward 4 Councilor Michael Roy urged Lewiston residents to support the proposed budget.

“I think it’s very important that we come out and show our support to the kids, the teachers, everybody,” Roy said. “I voted ‘yes,’ personally, the last two times. And I also put that the budget was too low. I feel (our) kids are an investment. We need to invest in our kids.”

The vote will take place Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All votes will be cast at the Longley School, 145 Birch St. Parking will be available across the street, at the Colisée.