Newcastle voters approved the town’s 2015-2016 secondary education budget during a special town meeting at Great Salt Bay Community School in Damariscotta Wednesday, May 13.
The budget totals $1,231,657, an increase of $170,875 or 16.11 percent. The budget includes all expenses for Newcastle students in grades nine through 12. Most attend Lincoln Academy.
Back-to-back tuition hikes at Lincoln Academy primarily account for the increase, according to Central Lincoln County School System officials.
The Maine Department of Education sets the tuition rate L.A. can charge towns at the state average of expenditures per public secondary student.
A second vote known as a budget validation referendum will coincide with Newcastle’s municipal election June 9.
