Scarborough voters will consider a $43.5 million school budget proposal when they go to the polls on Aug. 4 in a third attempt to approve a 2015-16 spending plan.

The Town Council voted 7-0 Wednesday night to restore $250,000 of $500,000 that was cut from an initial $43.8 million proposal for the fiscal year that started July 1, said Town Manager Tom Hall.

Hall said absentee ballots can be returned starting Thursday. The Aug. 4 vote will take place at Town Hall, where polls will remain open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The school funding issue has divided the town for months. On June 9, a majority of voters rejected the $43.8 million proposal and indicated on their ballots that it was too high. On July 7, larger majorities rejected a $43.3 million proposal and indicated it was too low.

Last week, the council had agreed to restore only $180,000 of the $500,000 reduction. Then, members of a community Facebook group “Supporters of Scarborough Schools” successfully lobbied individual councilors to increase the amount to be restored to $250,000.

Restoring $250,000 would preserve after-school activities and fund several new teaching positions, among other budget items that might have been cut. The $250,000 would be cut from municipal spending instead.

The revised budget 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.

The $43.5 million school proposal represents a $1.5 million, or 3.7 percent, increase over the $42 million 2014-15 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 44 cents, or 2.9 percent, from $15.10 to $15.54 per $1,000 of assessed property value, adding $132 to the annual tax bill on a $300,000 home.

Under the initial $43.8 million 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 council has removed what has become known as a “Goldilocks” advisory question – when voters indicate whether they think the budget is too high, too low or just right – from the Aug. 4 ballot.

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