KEENE — The Keene Central School District will be putting forth a new budget of $9,183,192 for the coming school year to voters on June 17, after the initial budget of $9.3 million was rejected by voters at the polls on May 20.

The revised budget, which is $138,589 less than the original budget, includes a proposed tax levy of $7,372,404 — compared to the $7,510,993 initially proposed levy — and will be compliant with the tax cap, the increase in the tax levy allowed by the state. The tax cap for KCSD this year was 3.03% and the original budget carried an increase of 4.65% in the tax levy.

Because this new budget meets the tax cap, it will only need a simple majority to pass, said Superintendent Dan Mayberry. The first budget needed to earn a supermajority in order to pass, since it was above the tax cap, but in the end, the budget was only supported by around 54% of the voters.

The KCSD board of education approved the amended budget on May 20, with the target amount set at exactly what would be needed to meet the tax cap. The revote will be taken on June 17 at Keene Central School with polls open from noon to 8 p.m. at the main entrance. The district will hold a hearing on the new, reduced budget on June 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the school auditorium.

Mayberry said meeting this budget mostly meant streamlining the budget and trimming little bits here and there.

“The main goal is to make the changes with as little impact as possible on the student program and the student experience,” he said. “That was kind of the mindset.”

This trimming applies to a number of budget lines dedicated to materials and supplies, as well as budget lines for software and textbooks. One budget line that was eliminated entirely was for unemployment insurance. Mayberry said he doesn’t expect the school to need these funds, and if they do, they have a reserve fund that they would be able to use for that purpose, with board approval.

In addition, the school had a teaching assistant resign after the original budget was passed, and this resignation was not accounted for in the first budget. Mayberry said they will not replace this position, which allowed them to shave money off of various employee expenses such as retirement, social security and health insurance.

“That was not our original intent, but with the budget vote being the way it was, we had to look at all possible changes that we could make,” he said.

The district had to also remove an additional health insurance plan.

“It’s a risk, because we have to budget for what could happen, so our fingers are crossed that people’s health insurance status doesn’t change over the course of the year,” he said.

While the district tried to reduce impact on the student experience, Mayberry said various cuts will mean “reshaping” the role of a new library and media specialist that the school is hoping to hire.

“We’re still working on the details on that,” he said, “but that position won’t be exactly what we had intended it to be.”

To view documents related to the budget that the district has made available to the public, visit tinyurl.com/49b4xd4k.