LEWISTON — Voters passed a $64.7 million school budget Tuesday, but the margin was slim.

The vote was 291-244, City Clerk Kathy Montejo said.

Superintendent Bill Webster said he was appreciative, “very pleased and relieved that the school budget passed. I know it wasn’t an easy vote for a lot of people, given the tax increase.”

A low turnout is one of the challenges of school budget referendums, Webster said. “You’d think because of the proposed increase, it might have had some impact on turnout. But I accept it and I am relieved.”

Of the $64.7 million budget, $45 million will come from the state and the rest from local taxpayers. The budget required a 5.7 percent increase in property taxes, which will cost owners of a $150,000 home $81 more in taxes.

Connie and Paul Brochu no longer have children in the school system, but voted yes, they said Tuesday. Their granddaughter is graduating from high school, and about to go to college.

Before voting, “we talked to teachers,” Connie Brochu said.

“Education is needed,” Paul Brochu said. “Today, we need to keep the children in school. There’s too many who fall out.”

He’s glad the Lewiston School Department is trying to keep students from dropping out.

Laurette Poulin said the budget was too high. “Guess what? I voted no,” she said.

Ditto for Russell Fox. “The budget is too much. No,” he said.

One voter said he voted no and didn’t believe special education costs had to increase by 10.9 percent.

Diane Chamberlain said she voted no in protest, unhappy with Webster “and the whole proficiency-based learning fiasco,” she said. “I don’t want to take money away from kids, but I don’t think what we’re doing is right for them now.”

Eighth-grade English teacher Brian Banton voted yes, as did Paul Robinson and Jennifer Williams, the mother of three students.

“It’s a long, arduous process to where we actually vote for it,” Robinson said.

Banton agreed, saying the budget is aired multiple times by the School Committee and City Council. Democracy is wonderful, but the school budget referendum is “redundant,” Banton said. “At this point, the budget needs to be moved through.”

Williams has one student at the middle school and two at Montello Elementary School. She supported the budget. “I don’t think it’s enough,” she said. “If we go any lower, we lose a lot of state money. Our schools can’t handle that.”

Superintendent Webster has said that Lewiston had no choice but to spend more on education. State law requires municipalities to raise minimum amounts; when districts raise less, the state will withhold money.

Even with the budget increase, Lewiston is raising the minimum, Webster said. “If we raise anything less, we’d lose $2.40 for every $1.”

He’s described the budget as one that maintains existing programs, adds two classroom teachers and seven ed techs to reduce kindergarten classroom sizes, and adds more staff to meet a growing number of special education students. More in-house autism programs will be created at Geiger Elementary and the high school.

More special ed students are coming to service centers like Lewiston, Webster said. Of the expected 470 incoming kindergarten students, 85 are already receiving special ed services from the state and 12 or 13 of those have severe needs.

The new budget will take effect July 1.

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