Residents of Phillips, Avon, Strong and Kingfield will once again review and decide on a budget proposal of $13.2 million for Maine School Administrative District 58. The board voted June 11 to send the budget, originally proposed in May, unchanged to residents.

“From the feedback that they received from community members, the board feels like the original budget was good,” said Superintendent Laura Columbia. “They want to give it another chance to the community.

The budget will include $667,491 more than the previous year’s, reflecting a 5.32% increase. The state will contribute an increased $171,095, which will increase the local share by $143,750. That will increase the local tax share by 6.13%.

In May, voters cut more than $400,000 from the proposed district budget, taking it to $12.7 million. The largest cuts were made to maintenance and special education. District leaders said the reduction would have impacted staffing.

All but one town chose to reject the amended budget by a 51-vote margin during the June 9 referendum. Strong was the only town to approve. Columbia said that the narrow margin made her concerned about the future of attempts to pass a budget that everyone could accept.

“I didn’t feel like it was overwhelmingly yes or no, it felt very divided,” She said. “Whenever there is a vote that is that close, that just gives me pause. I want our communities to be more united in support.”

The district will hold a vote July 20 at 7 p.m. to send the budget to a validation vote in August. Residents will then vote on the finalized budget during the referendum on Aug. 10, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.