The number of voters went up and the margin slimmed down a bit, but the end result of today's referendum on the District 13 education budget was again a "no" from voters. This time around, 964 people voted for the budget whil 1,017 voted against.

Last time, on May 5, 1,802 voters split 845 in favor and 957 against a net budget (expenses minus income, so in effect, a net budget is the amount to be raised by taxes) of $31.8 million, a 2.42 percent increase over the current year's net budget.

This time, the Board of Education had shaved over $300,000 off the bottom line through a combination of cuts in equipment and supplies, givebacks by administrators and school nurses and elimination of a planned reading consultant for a $31.4 million dollar net budget, 1.26 percent over the current year's spending plan.

While the margin of defeat dropped from 112 on May 5 to 95 on June 2, the result was the same. Board members and school personnel somberly reviewed their options. "We have to cut significantly, and that means cut programs," said Superintendent Sue Vaccaro. "The message is clear."

Board of Education chair Tom Hennick said, "I'm very, very disappointed, especially because I believe there is a significant amount of misinformation and bad information out there. How much better can you get than a 1.26 percent increase?" he asked rhetorically. "Anything we do now will impact programs. I think we're losing sight of the forest while focusing on the trees."

Like last time, it was Middlefield's larger negative vote that overwhelmed Durham's positive vote. This time, Durham voters approved the budget 687-595, a a gain of 109 "yes" votes against 25 "no" votes. Middlefield did not field as many extra voters the second time around, but their "yes" votes went up 10 to 277 while "no" votes went up by 35 to 422. That was enough.