While Board of Education has voted to send a $70 million budget request to the Board of Finance and Legislative Council for review, the debate over how money should be spent on education is far from over.

If Tuesday's meeting was any indication, members are divided over what their priorities are and will be wrestling with how to allocate the school district's dollars in future deliberations.

That is because even if the budget request weathers the scrutiny of the finance board and council, it also must pass the ultimate test at the annual budget referendum. Last year, two referendums were needed before voters gave their blessing, and the year before that, residents headed to the polls three times before ratifying the spending package. Of course, three years ago only one referendum was necessary.

At the same time, even if a bottom-line budget amount is approved at referendum – which results in the setting of the town's mill rate and determines how much property owners will shell out – state law gives the ultimate line-item decision-making authority to the education board.

That means once a budget is passed, the education board will take a second look at its requested spending package, and if a majority of members agree there should be no changes, will ratify the budget. However, a majority of members also could seek to make revisions to individual items listed in the budget. According to state law, the local education board is the only governmental entity with line item authority over its budget, which is different from line items in the municipal budget, which is subject to revision by the Board of Selectmen, finance board and council.

So, for instance, even though the education board has voted to include full-day kindergarten to next year's offering, once the budget is passed at referendum, members have the right to change their mind and pull the program in favor of some other expenditure. Officials have said they don't intend to do that, but the option is open to them.

Education board Chairman Debbie Leidlein also said given that some budget numbers are "moving targets," and subject to change within the next several weeks – for instance, medical healthcare and insurance costs are under review by a separate committee working on behalf of the town and school district – the education board can keep tabs on those numbers and work with the finance board and others to adjust the request.

As a result, during Tuesday's Municipal Center review and deliberation of the superintendent's originally proposed $71.6 million budget, some members voted down elements of the request but said they might support money for that area if additional savings were identified in the future.

That happened two years ago when the town and school district's switch to medical self-insurance resulted in costs that were less than the district originally had estimated. That also happened last year but to a much lesser degree.

This year, education board members appeared to use the possibility of additional savings as a reason to hold off on adding in items to the budget now, saying that decision could be made later if more money was found.

"It's tough, it's hard but we have to find the money," Cody McCubbin said.

But some members said the possibility of identifying substantial savings in the future was unlikely, particularly the switch to medical self-insurance already had been made.

However, the town is putting out to bid the adminstrative aspects of its insurance program as a way to further lower costs. Yet, board member and former board chairman Bill Hart said he believed the odds were stacked against finding any substantial savings not yet already identified.

"I've heard this over and over again," he said. "But show us where this is going to be? I think that's a fantasy, that's an excuse."

Walking the line between putting in what they believe are the needs of the school system and producing a budget that will win approval at referendum time is a harder job than they may have once believed, new board member John Vorous, said.

"This is probably the hardest thing I've done in my entire life and it's definitely not pleasant," he said. "My hope is it does get passed and we can do all that we intend to."

Correction: Only one budget referendum was needed three years ago. An earlier version of this article misstated the time reference. It has since been corrected.