LEWISTON -The Lewiston School Committee has reconsidered its 2004-05 school budget, cutting about $313,000 just six weeks after it OK’d a $37.1 million plan.

The committee unanimously approved the new $36.8 million budget in a meeting Wednesday night.

School Committee members decided they needed to make the cuts after learning recently that Lewiston schools were getting about $190,000 less in state aid next year. At the same time, city officials asked schools to give back more than $122,000 to help reduce taxes.

On Wednesday, the School Committee agreed to use $313,000 in savings from workers’ compensation and lower-than-expected increase in health insurance premiums to offset the cut in state aid and the gift to the city.

Officials did not have to cut programs, services or teachers. They had hoped to use some of the savings to help pay for a full-day kindergarten pilot program, but agreed to reallocate grant money for that project instead.

The newly approved $37.1 million budget is 2.5 percent more than this year’s budget.

The budget approved six weeks ago called for no increase to the property tax rate. This new budget will decrease the taxes dedicated to education.

“It’s a solid solution for the city,” Superintendent Leon Levesque said.

School officials could not say Wednesday exactly how much the $122,000 gift to the city would reduce the tax rate for education.

The school system last received extra help from local taxpayers in 2002, when the city handed schools $100,000 for new technology. Last year, the school system gave the city back almost $200,000 to help reduce taxes.

“We want to be players with them (the City Council) for the benefit of the community,” Levesque said.

School officials will discuss this newest budget with the City Council in a meeting on May 18.

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