Augusta voters approved a slashed $42.9 million school budget that cuts about two dozen positions, introduces mandatory pay-to-play sports, eliminates the Cony High School Latin program and restructures administrative positions, unofficial results show.

Just over 2,500 voters, or about 60%, approved of the spending plan, while 1,439, or 34%, voted against. An additional 240 voters left the ballot blank.

Tuesday’s vote brushed off concerns about the more than $3 million eliminated by the Augusta City Council from the school department’s budget in an attempt to limit the city’s overall tax increase to 5%. In Augusta, the City Council determines the total spending allotted to the school department.

School board members originally proposed a $45 million spending plan that would have increased costs to Augusta taxpayers by about $3.2 million. Five city council members agreed to the cuts to limit impact to property taxes, especially in the face of an ongoing revaluation, which is expected to shift tax burden from businesses to residences.

The cuts did not come unopposed. Most notably, about 200 Cony Middle and High School students walked out in April to protest the council’s spending cuts.

Of particular concern to students was the introduction of mandatory pay-to-play in school sports. Families will have to pay a fee to participate in athletics.

Students also railed against the elimination of four school social workers, five education technicians, a school clinician, a first-grade teacher, a fifth-grade teacher, a dean of students, the reintegration specialist and the middle school music teacher. Augusta schools cut 16 positions, many not filled, in the last budget cycle, too.

Superintendent Michael Tracy and several school board members called the cuts catastrophic.

City officials gave each voter a second, unofficial ballot to ask those who voted “no” whether they thought the spending number should be higher or lower. The results of that survey were not immediately available.