School budget passes

Validation results

Cape Elizabeth voters overwhelmingly approved a $19.8 million school budget for 2008-09 in a validation election Sept. 2.

Unofficial results announced by Town Clerk Ruth Noble Tuesday night showed 1,425 voting "Yes" for the 5.3-percent increase in school spending; and 731 voting "No."

In a second, advisory poll, voters were less definitive as to whether they believed the budget was too high, too low or just right  Most, 850, said it was too high; 717 said it was too low, and 541 said the amount of increase was "acceptable."

The newly validated school budget will add 55 cents to the Town's tax rate, bringing the total tax increase to 98 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of 5.98 percent.

The Sept. 2 validation was the third to be held in Cape Elizabeth this summer. Two previous budgets, one a 4.6 percent increase and one a 6 percent increase, both failed at polls this summer.

The turnout of 2,162 in the Sept. 2 vote was comparable to that of the July 22 validation, Noble said, approximately 30 percent.

This is the first year that Cape Elizabeth voters have been asked to validate school spending under the state's new school consolidation law.

Here are the results of the Sept. 2, 2008 school budget validation:

Do you favor approving the Town of Cape Elizabeth school budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at the latest school budget meeting of the town council?

YES 1,425

NO 731

Advisory Question

I find the school budget adopted at the August 18, 2008 Town Council's school budget meeting to be:

TOO HIGH         850

ACCEPTABLE   541

TOO LOW          717

Previous stories:

  • School Board proposes budget increase of 5.3 percent  (08/05/08)
  • School budget validation fails a second time (07/22/08)
More: Elections Results History