BELFAST - In a split vote, the Regional School Unit 20 board of directors approved a revised 2013-14 budget that goes lighter on staff cuts than those that prompted a backlash in May, and easier on taxes than the staff-friendly version voters rejected in June.

The $33,823,542 bottom line approved on Tuesday night represents an increase of just over 1 percent from last year's budget. The district's eight towns, however, will see their local share go up an average of 12.4 percent, due largely to a loss of state funding.

The new bottom line is down roughly a half million dollars from the $34.3 million budget that was voted down on June 11.

The board started its deliberations Tuesday with a set of recommendations from its finance committee. These were based on draft revisions by Superintendent Brian Carpenter.

The superintendent's budget added back in the School Resource Officer, which was cut in the board's initial budget in May. Art teachers at Troy Howard Middle School and Searsport District Middle and High Schools and one elementary school were also added back, but one full time art teacher at Belfast Area High School was not. Most of the library ed tech positions cut from the first budget were reinstated, as was a line for Middle School extra- and co-curricular activities.

The superintendent added back $150,000 for supplies and initially restored two secretarial positions in Belfast.

The finance committee kept most of the recommendations but cut supply line back to $100,000 and struck both secretarial positions.

After some heated discussion on Tuesday, however, the board reinstated the roughly $81,000 in funding for the secretarial positions by a weighted vote of 6,647-6,391.

The motion to reinstate funding for the secretaries was made by Morrill director Tony Swebilius and seconded by Dean Anderson of Belfast. Alan Wood, also of Belfast, said he would be willing to entertain other cuts if the secretarial positions were kept.

Director Valerie Mank of Searsmont was among those who opposed adding the money back into the budget. She pointed to the 13.2-percent projected increase in her town. "I can't lay this on the backs of my Searsmont fixed-income taxpayers," she said.

Board chairman Anthony Bagley supported adding the funding back, but more as a practical consideration. The two secretarial positions had been strongly defended at the public budget meeting in May. Bagley reasoned the same would be true again.

"I'll be blunt," he said. "Either we do it now, or they do it in two weeks."

Not all board members agreed with Bagley's rationale. Belmont director Stephen Hopkins noted that the referendum vote on the budget was only close in Belfast; other towns rejected it by a margin of 2:1.

"It just goes to show that the surrounding towns are hurting," he said.

There was some discussion of eliminating funding for the School Resource Officer. Like the secretarial lines, the SRO (a uniformed police officer who works in the Belfast middle and high schools) has been in an out of the budget in negotiations.

On Tuesday there was talk that Belfast had been approached about funding the SRO. If so, did that mean the line could be cut?

Bagley cautioned that it could always be cut at the budget meeting if Belfast did indeed decide to fund the position. Funding was kept in the budget.

The bottom line passed by a hand count of 8-5. Charles Poirier, Dean Anderson, Alan Wood (all of Belfast), Alexa Schweikert (Swanville), Tony Swebilius (Morrill), David Ferguson (Northport), Percy King and Anthony Bagley (both of Searsport) voted in favor. Stephen Hopkins (Belmont), Debora Reilly (Northport), Valerie Mank (Searsmont), Denise Dakin and Sharon Catus (both of Stockton Springs) voted against.

Additional changes to the budget established prior to Tuesday night's meeting include the elimination of the athletic director position. The current director has resigned and the position will not be filled. A reorganization in the central office will result in the elimination of one-and-a-half positions, saving roughly $50,000.

Percentage increase in the local share based on the proposed 2013-14 school district budget, by town:

Belfast:12.72
Belmont: 17.19
Morill: 15.13
Northport: 9.88
Searsmont: 13.39
Searsport: 13.93
Stockton Springs: 8.96
Swanville: 12.80

The public budget meeting at which residents of all eight towns may motion to change amounts in the budget will be held July 22 at Searsport District High School at 7 p.m.. A referendum on the budget approved at that meeting will be held on July 30 in all eight towns. Check your local town office for polling place and hours.

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Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com