SCARBOROUGH — The Town Council gave unanimous but tentative approval Wednesday to a revised $43.5 million school budget proposal that just might win voter support in a third validation referendum scheduled for Aug. 4.

The council will take a final vote July 22 on the latest iteration of a school and municipal spending plan that would result in a property tax rate increase of 2.8 percent for the fiscal year that started July 1.

The $43.5 million proposal would restore $180,000 of $500,000 that the council cut from an initial $43.8 million school budget, which a majority of voters rejected on June 9 and indicated on their ballots that it was too high. Voters also rejected a $43.3 million proposal on July 7, when a majority said it was too low.

“We’ll take it,” Kerem Durdag, a resident who had urged the council to fully fund the budget, said after the vote. “It’s a workable compromise within the timeline available and given the political sensitivities of the community.”

“It’s so workable that I’m concerned,” said Andrew Gwyer, a resident who has fought to reduce the school budget.

In offering the revised school budget proposal Wednesday, Councilor William Donovan said it would preserve after-school activities and fund several new teaching positions. It also would require tight budgeting by school administrators, who are willing and able to do the work, Donovan said.

“This is probably the best budget package we can put forward,” council Chairwoman Jessica Holbrook said of the proposed $180,000 restoration, which would instead be cut from municipal spending.

The revised proposal also calls for directing an additional $884,890 in state education aid, which the town learned it received this month, to reduce the tax rate.

Councilor Jean Marie Caterina said she would prefer to restore $250,000 to the school budget and plans to weigh the testimony of more than two dozen residents who urged the council to restore the entire $500,000 reduction.

“I see this as a base,” Caterina said. “I’ve got some more thinking to do.”

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Nearly 200 adults and children attended the meeting, many of them wearing red shirts reflecting the name of Scarborough High School’s athletic teams, the Red Storm.

About 25 speakers called on the council to restore the full $500,000 to avoid threatened cuts such as extracurricular activities for students and professional development for teachers.

Some chastised councilors for bending to the wishes of fiscally conservative voters and asked them to fulfill a moral obligation to fund quality schools. Several said they moved to Scarborough largely for its schools, while others quoted statistics demonstrating the need for a good education to thrive in the 21st century.

“I would love you to tax me higher,” said Kathryn Miles, who noted that she has no children in the town’s schools but believes the budget is too low to educate children effectively.

Mike Turek was one of two speakers who urged the council to stick with the lower budget because some townspeople cannot afford a tax increase, especially seniors living on fixed incomes.

“Let’s remember them before we go ahead and raise the taxes,” Turek said.

3.5 PERCENT INCREASE

The $43.5 million proposal represents a $1.5 million, or 3.53 percent, increase over the 2013-15 school budget, which remains in effect until voters approve a 2015-16 budget. The property tax rate for both municipal and school services would increase 43 cents, or 2.8 percent, from $15.10 to $15.53 per $1,000 of assessed property value, adding $129 to the annual tax bill on a $300,000 home.

Under the initial budget proposal, the tax rate would have increased 87 cents, or 5.78 percent, from $15.10 to $15.97 per $1,000 of assessed value. That would have added $261 to the annual tax bill on that home. With a $500,000 reduction, the tax rate would have increased 72 cents or 4.75 percent, to $15.82 per $1,000, which would have added $216 to the same tax bill.

The school funding issue has divided the town for months.

On June 9, the vote was 1,719 to 1,408 against a $43.8 million school budget that called for a $1.8 million, or 4.3 percent increase. On a non-binding advisory question, 1,761 voters said it was too high, 619 said it was too low and 710 said it was acceptable.

On July 7, the vote was 3,584 to 496 against a $43.3 million budget that was up $1.3 million, or 3.1 percent. In that case, 2,047 voters said the proposal was too low, 1,838 said it was too high and 177 said it was just right.

The council decided Wednesday that the ballot on Aug. 4 won’t include the advisory question, which has come to be known as “the Goldilocks question.”

Kelley Bouchard can be reached at 791-6328 or at:

kbouchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: KelleyBouchard