The Oswego Board of Education met for a special budget meeting Tuesday evening opting to pass a budget with a 3.81 percent tax rate increase — the same tax rate of the first defeated budget — with a 4-2 vote.

Casting the only “no” votes were Board President Maggie Tiballi and Fred Maxon. Voting to approve the budget were Dan Hoefer, Jim Tschudy, Dave White and Sean Madden. Vice President Sally Nettles was absent from the meeting.

The newly adopted budget contains a total of $66,712,083. The board’s goal was to get the budget down to a 3.5 percent tax rate increase. A number of reductions were made while other positions that were reinstated between the May 20 and June 17 budget vote continued to miss the chopping block.

Cuts made to the 2008-09 school year budget include a reduction in equipment worth $156,000, $16,000 in supplies, marching band uniforms at $45,000 and one teacher on assignment worth $97,000. Also, the bottom level of the education center and most of the third floor are being leased, bringing in $62,760 in additional revenue for the district.

The original 10 positions that were reinstated for the June 17 budget were kept in the third budget adopted Tuesday night. These positions include at the elementary level, two music, two art, one physical education and one librarian position. At the secondary level, one technology teacher and three part-time hall monitors were able to keep their jobs.

“I just can’t see cutting the guts out of other positions,” said board member Sean Madden. He noted that the last defeated budget had a higher tax rate of 5.72 percent and could understand why voters shot it down.

“If we can get down to 3.81 (percent tax rate) and still keep and maintain the integrity of these programs, I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Madden said.

Board member Fred Maxon was not in favor of keeping the 10 positions that were reinstated in the last budget and wanted a tax rate of 3.36 percent. “I can live with that; having just come off a situation where people made it very clear to me that the tax rate is too high,” he said.

“I just really think that we are treading into dangerous waters,” Maxon said. “… This is just year one of what will be a multi-year effort to reduce the size of our personnel costs in the district.” He noted that the district in the next few years will have to bring itself down to “a size that makes sense for our community.”

Oswego City School District taxpayers twice defeated proposed budgets brought before them. The $66.59 million budget with a 3.81 percent tax rate increase was defeated May 20. June 17, voters also rejected a $67.1  million budget with a 5.58 percent tax rate increase.

The next board of education meeting, where new members John Dunsmoor and Sam Tripp will take part in their first official meeting, is Tuesday at a time and location yet to be announced.