LISBON — The School Committee listened to frustrations from the public at Monday’s special meeting, where Superintendent Rick Green proposed cutting staff positions and contracted services after voters overwhelmingly rejected the school budget last week.

Committee members will likely approve a new budget proposal when they meet Friday.

“This couldn’t be more difficult,” Green said.

Residents on June 10 rejected the roughly $21 million proposal by a vote of 724-312.

It is $598,966 more than this year’s budget, which covers until June 30.

Voters seemed frustrated by the steep increase in the proposed municipal budget, which is not voted on by residents. When taken together, the proposed school, town, water and county budgets would have raised Lisbon’s tax rate by more than 18%.

Town councilors on Tuesday voted down the town manager’s proposed municipal budget after hearing from residents angered by the proposed tax increase.

On Monday, School Committee member Lauren Craig gave an impassioned plea, asking the community if they really want to cut the teaching positions presented by Green.

“Do you hear the positions they want to cut from the school department, right?” she asked. “Is this what we want? Is this what we want as a community? Are we going to take out some of the things that have happened on the backs of our children?”

The proposed school budget essentially maintained all services and programs, along with existing funds to put toward the middle school construction project, Green said.

He proposed several ways the school department can further whittle the budget down.

He suggested the committee cut contracted services in adult education, services through Jobs for Maine Graduates and one student resource officer, to which Lisbon police Chief Ryan McGee objected.

Green proposed cutting eight vacant staff positions, along with one staff position held by a person who is retiring next fall. Some of those positions included a special education teacher, prekindergarten classroom teacher, food service workers and several coaches.

Lastly, he proposed using money that would have been for the middle school construction project to offset the amount funded by property taxes.

Last November, voters approved a bond for the construction project, which is not expected to start now until 2027, Green said.

Green did not give a dollar amount the proposed cuts would reduce the budget and offset taxes.

The town’s share of the proposed budget is $8.75 million, a 5.7% increase from the current budget.

Green did not seem interested in using undesignated funds to offset staffing costs, calling it a financial cliff that could only drive up costs next year.

Starting July 1, the school department will operate based on the current budget until one is passed.

Committee member Len Lednum said he was frustrated at the critics of the budget after committee members worked for the past several months to bring a conservative spending plan to voters. Teachers are often shopping Amazon returns for classroom supplies, furniture and other items as a result of that, he said.

He also noted that less than half of the school budget is funded by property taxes, stating “big government daddy in Augusta pays the rest, so quite frankly we’re barely, barely covering the tip on our dinner bill.”

In frustration, Lednum crumpled up the paper containing the proposed cuts, saying it was “garbage to me.”

Town Councilor Norm Albert encouraged the committee to send the budget back to the council with no changes because the failed vote was a result of frustration with the municipal budget.

“I want to apologize to you all, that you and your school budget have been the victim of what has been a very clear outcry from the public regarding the municipal side of the house,” he said.

Later in the meeting he asked councilors to send the budget as is back to the council, stating, “send it to us, you’ve done all the work, don’t do a damn bit more. Send it right back to us and make us do our job.”

It was standing-room only in council chambers during the meeting, with some standing in the hallway.

Lisbon resident Lindsey Atwood said she was frustrated over the failed vote and that voters seem to be taking it out on the education department.

“It’s impossible for me to understand how schools, who are operating at a bare minimum, can pare down,” she said. “… Our children, our educators and our town deserve better than the outcome of this vote.”

Rachel Reuling, who helped rally people to the meeting Monday night, asked the committee not to make any changes to the budget.

“This is ridiculous,” she said. “There’s no place to cut from the school … Our children are the ones who are going to suffer.”

Green said he expects the next budget referendum will be Aug. 12, just before property tax bills are sent.

The School Committee will meet Friday via Zoom at 8:30 a.m., when it will likely approve a new budget, Green said. It will go before the Town Council on July 1.