Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit voters said 'yes,' just barely, September 10 to the next school budget. Across the eight towns, 765 voters favored the budget; 710 opposed it.

The 'no' vote prevailed in Somerville, Palermo, Chelsea and Windsor, but it's the majority across the district that counts. Passage does not require all towns' approval.

It was the district's second try at a budget this year. A proposal with a higher tab for towns lost at the polls in June.

The offer that passed Tuesday was down $445,000 from the failed offer. The total cost to towns will hike 4.56 percent higher from last year; the earlier proposal would have hiked it 7.7 percent.

Tuesday's results by town were: Wiscasset, 393 yes, 315 no; Westport Island, 72 yes, 18 no; Alna, 26 yes, 11 no; Somerville, 15 yes, 44 no; Whitefield, 88 yes, 76 no; Palermo, 32 yes, 37 no; Chelsea, 56 yes, 119 no; Windsor, 83 yes, 90 no.

“That's very exciting,” Superintendent Howard Tuttle said about the budget's passage. “It's a vote for the students. I'm glad the voters support this budget and we can move on to providing the students with the best education possible.”

As for the margin of the budget's success at the polls, Tuttle said, “It's closer than I'd like to see.” Changes in the district's fundng formula likely were a factor for some voters, he said.