LEWISTON — A $129.71 million school budget will go to a public referendum May 12 after passing the City Council Tuesday evening.

In a 6-1 vote, councilors approved the spending plan, which is 10% above the current year’s $117.68 million budget and an 8% increase in what taxpayers will need to finance compared to the current year.

The decision came after much public comment, both in support and opposition, to the budget. Many said they would like to see the budget cut further, while others said there is no practical way to ask the school district to cut more than the 26 positions it has settled on.

Resident Matthew Agren said the school department, much like all city departments, should  take 10% off its budget. The school budget is not sustainable given the tax base, he said. 

“Yes, the school does a lot of great things and it’s what’s hopefully going to bring new businesses in and new economic development, but we can’t afford a gold-plated school, for lack of a better word,” Agren said. “We’re going to have a mass exodus of taxpayers who are going to put their houses on the market.”

Julia Harper, school board member and parent, said an initial 12.39% increase on taxpayers was cut to a final 8.06% increase while juggling fixed costs such as electricity, insurance, transportation, special education and contractual cost-of-living salary increases while using half of the district’s remaining savings.

“While some of these (26 cut positions) were administrators, most of them were roles working directly with our students and our teachers,” Harper said, adding that the reason why the budget should be passed is because the schools are making progress. 

“Lewiston is one of the few districts in the state with growing enrollment, which means economic opportunity as well as responsibility. We have seen gains in academic achievement, school culture and attendance since the pandemic because we’ve invested in the people who make a difference.”

Ward 7 Councilor Bret Martel, the only dissenting vote, said despite the good work of school officials to bring forward as low a budget as possible, his impression of the school board’s approach was that cuts were being held back in anticipation the referendum vote would fail.

“I also do believe while this budget was passed unanimously … it’s time to get real about the cuts,” Martel said. 

Several councilors said that despite their votes in favor of sending the school budget to voters, they did not believe the voters will pass the budget.

“We’ve heard some impassioned pleas to support the school budget tonight,” said council President David Chittim, of Ward 6. “We’ve heard impassioned pleas to lower the tax rate tonight. You can’t have it both ways. … I do believe that the schools reflect our future. This is one situation where I do believe that kicking the can down the road is the proper thing to do. If we invest today, we will see the benefits tomorrow.”