On May 16, North Stonington voters approved the project to renovate town schools by a three-vote margin, with a recount Tuesday sustaining the 908-905 result. That is not what you call a mandate.

Those who opposed the $38.5 million project have to be feeling frustrated. Voters convincingly defeated two earlier proposals. Both were more expensive than the latest version. In this case, winning one out of three is enough to claim victory.

The situation poses a major challenge for town leaders. They will have to deliver this project within the budget. Unanticipated expenses or unforeseen delays could revive opposition. That’s the reality when a town is this divided.

According to information provided to voters prior to the referendum, owners of a house assessed at about $175,000 can expect the cost of paying off the school construction bonds to add $480 to $540 to their property tax bills annually over two decades. This will create great pressure to control all other expenditures and keep tax hikes to a minimum, no easy task in a small town with a limited tax base and bare-bones government.

The fundamental issue in this referendum was whether to maintain Wheeler High School. Stonington made it clear it had the capacity to handle North Stonington students in its high school, meaning North Stonington would only have to renovate facilities for grades K-8. By that 3-vote margin, the townspeople indicated they wanted to keep their high school.

The best news is that after years of delay the schools will get the repairs and renovations they desperately need. The plans call for adding a new wing onto the middle/high school building and renovating “as new” that building and the elementary school. Town officials say this approach will qualify for state aid that will leave local taxpayers paying between $21.6 million and $23.4 million.

It is a good plan and not extravagant, but it is a lot of money for a town of 5,300.

Supporters of the status quo have reason to celebrate. With an enrollment of around 175, Wheeler students get individual attention rare in a public school. A majority of voters placed enough value on having a hometown high school to move forward. But it remains to be seen whether this ends the controversy over the cost of maintaining a K-12 school system.