Scarborough Town Council approved a combined school and municipal budget of $169 million in a 6-1 vote Wednesday night.

The $94.8 million that will be raised through taxes will result in a 3.21% increase in the tax rate.

Since the budget was first proposed, the finance committee reduced it by around $2.5 million, including $1.2 million from the school budget. The original budget would have increased the tax rate by almost 6%.

Originally, council members set a goal of a 0% tax increase, which they later amended to a 2% increase. Some residents argued the 2% goal felt arbitrary and unnecessary, while others have said the town should have stuck to that limit.

The $78 million school budget is about $4 million higher than the previous year due mostly to rising personnel costs, which make up about 80% of the budget. New state mandates, such as a cell phone ban and a pre-K program expansion, also bring additional costs.

To reduce the first proposed school budget, a few unfilled positions were eliminated — without impacting current staff — and other line items were reduced. One ed tech position was eliminated and transferred to a different open position.

Many residents advocated for the school budget during the council meeting Wednesday. They said the 3.21% tax rate increase is below the inflation rate and lower than many communities in Cumberland County.

“Our dollars are responsibly spent in the areas that directly support students and staff while we remain significantly lean in the areas of administration, transportation and facilities,” Shannon Lindstrom, chair of the Scarborough School Board, said Wednesday.

Worried about future tax burdens due to the $140 million school project approved last November, some residents and councilors hoped to save taxpayers’ money this year with a lower tax rate.

On the other hand, Scarborough schools are also anticipating a significant loss in state funding as a result of a recent bill passed overhauling the state’s public school funding formula.

The $78 million budget includes a $75 million general fund operating budget that residents will vote on in June, as well as a $2.5 million school nutrition budget and a 233,057 adult education budget.