FAYETTE — Voters approved much less education funding Saturday than recommended by the School Committee, deferring some decisions to a potential special town meeting in a few months.

Voters at Town Meeting went with the selectmen and the Budget Committee’s recommendations on every article where those bodies disagreed with the School Committee. The School Committee’s budget totaled $1.9 million, while the selectmen and the Budget Committee recommended a $1.6 million budget.

Also at Town Meeting, which had a turnout of about 80, voters agreed the town should keep Starling Hall, not take on Young Road as a town road, approved a municipal budget of $1 million and approved an analysis of town office space needs.

The school budget as approved Saturday increases spending by $41,593, or 2.6 percent. The School Committee’s budget would have increased spending by 20.7 percent, mostly because of the addition of staff. The town could may revisit appropriations for some of those positions near the start of school.

Budget Committee member Joel Swimm said he, his fellow committee members and the selectmen did not receive the School Committee’s budget until May 12, leaving them insufficient time to review it.

In addition, some School Committee recommendations were based on educating students who haven’t enrolled yet, and Swimm said he also wanted to leave some decisions to new leadership when the Fayette School Department again becomes a standalone school district on July 1.

“We’re looking at continuing the process with a new school board, with a new superintendent, and having a special town meeting at the end of August or early in September to finalize what you guys are going to approve for the school budget,” Swimm said. “We’re only raising taxes for what we need.”

School Committee Chairman Dick Darling, who lost his bid for re-election on Tuesday, apologized for not getting the budget to town officials earlier. But he said School Committee members have been reviewing it since March.

“We’ve had considerable discussion about the needs of the children here in the school based on input from the superintendent, the faculty, parents and our own observations,” Darling said. “We put forth a number that we felt was the best way to meet the needs of the kids in this school.”

On the regular instruction article, voters approved a figure about $70,000 less than recommended by school officials, who said Fayette Central School will need another teacher to deal with larger classes.

The special education budget approved is $156,938, less than half the $331,205 in the School Committee’s budget.

The School Committee budgeted about $70,000 for two new education technicians for Fayette students who need one-on-one support, plus the cost of out-of-district placements for two high-needs students who might enroll in the Fayette school department. The transportation article also included $14,000 to provide busing for those students.

“We can address that when school starts, when they’ve entered our district,” Selectman Mary Wright said.

Special education director Sue Hunt pointed out that Fayette is required by law to provide services mandated in special education students’ individual education plans, and if the town doesn’t appropriate money for those services, it will be taken from elsewhere in the school budget.

The School Committee also disagreed on school administration. The School Committee recommended $88,064 to hire a full-time principal for Fayette Central School, which a plurality of respondents support in a recent online survey for parents.

Voters on Saturday approved spending $57,064, which will maintain the same job configuration Principal Nancy Godfrey has had for four years. She serves as principal half time and teaches special education half time, and an education technician can step in if something urgent arises when Godfrey is teaching.

The overall school budget passed on a secret-ballot vote of 77-5.

Most of the municipal budget articles passed with little discussion. That budget is up by about 4.5 percent.

There was debate about a new reserve fund for capital equipment, which Selectman Jon Beekman said would allow the town to save up down payments for purchases like plow trucks, reducing town borrowing and spreading the cost of major purchases more evenly over the years.

Ultimately, voters approved putting $25,000 into the reserve fund, which was what the Budget Committee recommended but only half of the selectmens’ recommendation.

Other warrant articles that caused debate dealt with Young Road, Starling Hall and the Town Office.

The Young Road article, which selectmen recommended rejecting, was placed on the warrant at the request of Roberta Manter, who lives with her husband, David Manter, on the public easement road, which allows the public unfettered access with no obligation to pay for maintenance.

Roberta Manter asked Fayette to accept about a half-mile stretch of Young Road as a town road to provide plowing, grading and repairs to damage caused by logging truck. She proposed a similar article for last year’s Town Meeting warrant, but the selectmen declined to put it on the warrant. The Manters have disputed the road’s status with the town since the 1970s.

David Manter said the road is now recognized by the U.S. Postal Service as a mail route, and the town has granted building permits for four homes on the road.

“Young Road, where I live, is not a place for the town of Fayette to mine money out of so that the rest of the town can enjoy it,” he said. “The money has to be given back in an equitable manner.”

Voters rejected the article 22-44.

Voters favored hanging on to Starling Hall, a former Grange hall where Fayette votes in elections and the historical society has set up a museum. The town pays about $5,000 for annual and maintenance at the hall, which would be expensive to bring up to code and make it accessible to people with disabilities.

The selectmen voted 3-1, with Chairman Joseph Young opposed. Young said Saturday that his grandfather helped get Starling Hall built in the late 19th century, and it’s one of only two historic properties belonging to the town — the other is the library, formerly the school.

Resident Gerald Mitchell also argued against selling off a piece of Fayette’s history.

“Once you sell that, you never get it back,” Mitchell said. “I hope people sitting here today realize how the people before you worked to put a solid foundation under that building so it would be here for future generations.”

Voters approved spending $5,850 from the Town Office Capital Reserve Account on an analysis of space needs at the town office, which was built in the 1980s. Wright said the building presents health problems, accessibility problems and privacy problems.

Swimm said it’s clear the building needs to be fixed, but the town doesn’t have the appetite to pay for such a project, and by the time that changes, the analysis will be out of date.

The study was approved on a voice vote, with about one-third of the voters objecting.

Town Meeting, which began at 9 a.m., concluded at about 1:30 p.m.

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

smcmillan@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @s_e_mcmillan

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