JAY — RSU 73 voters overwhelmingly passed an $18.58 million school budget Tuesday night at a districtwide meeting. Nearly 60 voters attended.

Residents of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls will vote on it at their polls Aug. 21.

Tuesday night was the third time a budget has been passed at a districtwide meeting this summer, only to be defeated later by voters at the polls.

Classes are scheduled to begin Aug. 28 and the school board and Superintendent Robert Wall, as well as staff, hope a budget is in place by then.

Tuesday’s approved budget of $18,589,603 is $225,000 less than the first budget proposal defeated in June, and about 1 percent higher than the current budget of $18,404,481.

To get to the lower figure, the board eliminated several professional and support positions totaling $487,000, reduced administration costs, and made cuts in virtually every cost center in the district.

Prior to the vote, Wall spent an hour explaining that state aid to education, federal stimulus money and other revenues have been reduced. He said labor costs, which make up 70 percent of the budget, continue to rise and building maintenance costs remain a significant portion of the budget.

Several committees are currently working to identify buildings that could be used for other purposes or closed to reduce costs, he said.

Wall also told residents that the cost to educate Jay students has been reduced significantly from the 2003-04 school year.

In a PowerPoint presentation, he showed that Jay and Livermore Falls taxpayers pay a smaller share of the total local tax burden for schools than the state average. Jay’s share is 55 percent and Livermore Falls’ is 48 percent, compared to the state average of 68 percent. Livermore’s share for school taxes of its total local tax burden is 69 percent.

Thousands of dollars are funneled into the school district from grants written by teachers and other staff members, board Chairwoman Denise Rodzen said.

Wall said RSU 36 and the Jay School Department consolidated to save money.

“Even with an increase (1 percent) the budget is less,” he said.

Additional details on how the board and administration came to Tuesday’s adopted budget may be found on the district’s website, www.rsu73.org.