In a town increasingly divided over school funding, Scarborough voters on Tuesday elected two candidates to the Town Council who were backed by community groups that supported higher school budgets.

Christopher Caiazzo, a sitting School Board member, and Robert Rowan, a political newcomer, won a five-way race for two three-year council terms, with 2,398 votes and 2,149 votes, respectively. Candidates Michael Turek and William “Liam” Somers, who were supported by concerned-taxpayer groups, received 1,363 votes and 1,254 votes, respectively.

James Benedict, a former councilor and the fifth candidate in the race, got 507 votes. Two council seats were open because Jessica Holbrook and Edward Blaise didn’t seek re-election.

Voter turnout was 27 percent, with 4,271 ballots cast, said Town Clerk Tody Justice on Wednesday morning.

Political fault lines that deepened during this year’s school budget battle were apparent during the autumn campaign, especially on community Facebook pages that staked out combative positions last spring and summer. “Supporters of Scarborough Schools” and “Save Scarborough Schools” promoted Caiazzo and Rowan, while “Concerned Taxpayers of Scarborough” and “SMARTaxes” promoted Turek and Somers.

Last spring and summer, for the third year in a row, and the fourth time in eight years, Scarborough voters battled over school spending. On Aug. 3, they went to the polls for a third time and finally approved a $43.5 million school budget. The spending plan for 2015-16 is $250,000 less than the initial $43.8 million proposal that voters rejected on June 9 and $250,000 more than the $43.3 million proposal they rejected on July 7.

The $43.5 million school budget represents a $1.5 million, or 3.7 percent, increase over the $42 million 2014-15 school budget. The property tax rate for both municipal and school services increased 39 cents, or 2.6 percent, from $15.10 to $15.49 per $1,000 of assessed property value, adding $117 to the annual tax bill on a $300,000 home.

The council race heated up Monday when Somers admitted that he had overstated his educational background for candidate profiles published in local newspapers. While Somers initially said he had a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, he acknowledged that he only attended the school for three semesters.

In School Board races Tuesday, candidate Kathryn Miles and incumbents Donna Beeley and Jaquelyn Perry ran unchallenged for three seats up for election, including Caiazzo’s spot. In addition, Cari Lyford ran unopposed for a one-year term to fill a vacancy left by the recent resignation of board member Jane Leng.

 

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