Following two failed attempts to pass a school budget, Lisbon officials are sending a third version to voters.

With no discussion, the Town Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposed $21 million budget, which will be sent to voters Nov. 4.

Last month, the School Committee approved Superintendent Richard Green’s recommendation to cut $121,253 from the $21.2 million budget.

Items cut include adult education, which is administered by Wales-based Regional School Unit 4, and an athletic trainer position, which had yet to be filled. Funding for a school resource officer was also eliminated, but Police Department officials told Green they would make sure the position remained intact.

Green had looked more at professional services to find places to cut instead of contractual obligations, such as teachers and staff. Those reductions would require a 90-day notice, which would extend employment into the second semester before those positions can be eliminated. Cuts that late would have likely disrupted learning.

The Town Council unanimously agreed with all the adjustments except the $28,653 cut to adult education, which only Councilor Normand Albert opposed.

Whether voters are in a more forgiving mood now appears doubtful. Dozens of residents have packed the Council Chamber for months, outraged at the tax increase in the town budget.

Even after the budget was finalized, residents are still expressing their displeasure with the municipal budget during Town Council meetings.

Charlie Turgeon, who tapped into that anger, gathered nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition earlier this year to give residents the opportunity to vote on the municipal budget as they do now with the school budget. He acknowledged Thursday that voters are still angry.

“I believe the majority of the residents of Lisbon feel ignored by their own representation, and want some relief, wherever they can find it, even if it means the school budget having to try to do more with less in the short-term,” Turgeon said.

Turgeon declined to talk specifically on the upcoming school budget vote because he felt it would be inappropriate since his wife is a teacher.

Dale Crafts, whose political action committee Renew the American Dream PAC sent mailers urging a no vote on the first school budget, did not return a call seeking comment on his thoughts about this third budget vote.

Voters in June soundly rejected the budget, with nearly 70% saying it was too high. Residents were seething over a double-digit tax hike due to an accounting error with the municipal budget.

The accounting error of $1.3 million has placed the town in a huge financial hole. Officials used money from the unassigned fund balance to cover the deficit, but also used an additional $500,000 from that account.

During his preliminary report to the council this summer, auditor Ron Smith chastised the town for numerous arithmetic errors. He determined that the town actually used $2.9 million from the fund balance, leaving the town at a dangerously low level.

Making matters worse, Superintendent Green discovered recently that the amount of last year’s school budget, which voters approved, was not used in determining the 2024-25 tax rate. Officials used the previous total instead. To correct that, officials this year had to use increases from both years in their calculations.

Following the first no vote, parents were equally passionate about not cutting the school budget when they filled the School Committee meeting.

Town officials, believing voters only opposed the school budget because it was the one place where they could show their displeasure with the process, sent the exact same budget back to voters.

The referendum failed again last month by a 3-2 margin, setting the stage for November’s third vote.