The Cape School Board has increased the 2006-2007 school budget by nearly twice the recommended amount.

Despite a 3.4 percent spending cap imposed by the Town Council, School Board members voted Tuesday night to increase spending by 7 percent for the upcoming school year.

For the past month, School Board members have heard testimonials from parents and teachers in response to the superintendent’s preliminary budget released Feb. 27. The initial budget complied with the council’s spending cap, but included cuts in professional development, staffing and equipment.

The superintendent’s initial budget included staffing cuts totaling $252,350. They included a sixth grade teacher, a half-time science teacher at the middle school and a full-time science teacher at the high school. Those three positions have been restored to the budget.

In the initial cuts, professional development was decreased by one-third its overall budget. The board is adding three full-time ed-techs: one at the middle school and two at the high school. School Board Chair Elaine Moloney said these positions allow teachers free time to meet with other teachers and plan curriculum.

The board also restored money for the seventh and eighth grade laptop program. If the state decides not to pay for the program, the schools are responsible for renewing the replacement contract, which costs about $70,000.

The board also included a part-time social worker at Pond Cove. School Board member Kevin Sweeney said Pond Cove has “pleaded” for this position for six years.

“It shows up every year it seems like,” he said. The addition of another social worker will decrease the need for these services in the upper grades, said Moloney.

In addition to the part-time health teacher added to the superintendent’s initial budget, the board also included a half-time nurse position.

Moloney said despite the additions to the budget, there are many things the schools still can’t do. Her personal wish list includes laptops for high school students, fully paying for the achievement center and additional English and history teachers.

Parents, teachers and students spoke out in support of increasing the school budget at the Town Council meeting Monday night.

Sweeney said that kind of community support made it easy for him to back a 7 percent budget increase.

Cape Junior Nick Daly, a student representative to the Town Council addressed the council on behalf of the student body. He asked the council to consider spending above the cap. The students he said oppose the spending limitation. “We hope that the very strong feelings of the Cape students will be heard,” he said.

Parent Mary Townsend addressed the council three years ago, when she felt cuts were compromising school excellence. Sweeney said that “After six years of budget constraints, there is no more fat to trim,” said Townsend.

She accused the council of prioritizing lower property taxes over the quality of the schools. “In this town it appears that keeping property taxes low takes precedent,” she said.

Cape resident Bill DeSena favors lowering property taxes through a spending cap. “I happen to believe that Maine nor Cape can afford more rises,” he said.

Rather than raising property taxes, he advised the council to seek creative solutions to raising money. DeSena urged the council to charge a fee for trash disposal or implement fees at Fort Williams to pay for school. “That’s your out,” he said.

David Weatherbie, a high school cross country and track coach, also asked the council to reconsider the cap, calling it unreasonable. People move to Cape Elizabeth because of the excellent school system, he said. This service draws people to the town, he said, thus increasing property values.

He said continued cuts in the school budget will eventually decrease Cape’s property value because people will no longer move to Cape for the schools. “Increases in taxes are a sound investment,” he said because, “the school system is the number one driver of property values.”

The budget-trimming trend is dangerous, Weatherbie said. “We already have some of our best teachers thinking it might be time to look elsewhere.”

Sweeney and other councilors said the budget cuts started six years ago. Sweeney said necessary items like textbooks kept falling by the wayside. In the past though, the community didn’t get involved. “It was easy for the council to look at us and say ‘I guess everybody’s happy’,” said Sweeney, “this year it is pretty clear everybody is not happy,” he said.