It took two attempts, but Moscow and Bingham have a school district budget for this year.

The vote on Tuesday was 97-57. Moscow residents passed the budget by one vote, 36-35, and Bingham residents voted 61-22.

“I’m thrilled that we have the go-ahead to utilize the proposed budget and actually start the school year off with an improved budget,” Superintendent Virginia Rebar said Wednesday.

The $3,048,308 budget is a 1.3 percent, or $39,443, decrease from last year’s figure. School Administrative District 13 went through the budget process twice after Moscow residents defeated the budget at the polls June 14.

After that vote, school board members found more than $100,000 in savings, with about $60,000 coming from cutting the industrial arts program.

The district has several other projects to focus on now, Rebar said. They include the following:

* Exploring how much the district could save if it closed Quimby Middle School. An analysis by the state will likely be complete in September.

* Working to implement standards-based grading in which students advance when they master specific skills.

* Changing the middle school’s schedule, so the fewer than 100 students in grades five through eight have specific teachers for English, social studies, science and math, instead of one teacher in each grade handling all subjects.

* Finishing hiring new staff to fill vacancies.

Erin Rhoda — 612-2368

erhoda@centralmaine.com