New London - The Board of Education on Thursday night approved a budget for fiscal year 2016 that would require from the city an appropriation of $43,722,280, which represents an increase of 5.98 percent over the current fiscal year's appropriation from city taxpayers.

The district's total operating budget, which includes more than $20 million of revenue from grants, totals $63,749,691 - an increase of about $4.16 million, or 6.98 percent, over the current year's total operating budget.

The board approved the budget by a 6-1 vote, with board member Mirna Martinez dissenting. Martinez said she is "completely supportive" of the board's budget, but voted "no" because she wanted some jobs funded out of certain state aid the district may receive.

Before approving the budget recommended by Superintendent Manuel J. Rivera, the board made one change: $175,000 that had been earmarked to purchase new financial software was moved into an account to fund maintenance of school buildings. The district and the city, which are expected to share the financial software, instead plan to pay for it by bonding the total cost.

On Thursday, Rivera recommended that the board move just $100,000 into the maintenance fund and reduce the district's overall budget by the remaining $75,000, a proposal that Finance and Audit Committee Chairman Rob Funk supported.

"While we had requested a roughly 6 percent increase in our budget months ago, the state has not come through with an increase in its Educational Cost Sharing grant. I do believe the expenses in the budget as proposed are all valid, good, real expenses, but I am recognizing the responsibility that this puts on the New London taxpayer," Funk said. "The $75,000 reduction I had proposed is very minimal, I don't think it's going to impact our overall system in a negative manner and I don't think that keeping it in is going to improve our overall system in a substantial manner."

Funk proposed an amendment to reduce the overall budget by $75,000, but no other board member offered to second his motion.

Of the total operating budget, 67 percent will be allocated among the city's schools, 18 percent will go toward districtwide services like professional development and occupational or physical therapists, 12 percent will be spent on out-of-district student expenses and 3 percent will go to the Adult and Continuing Education program.

The district's total anticipated revenue is expected to come from three major sources: 36 percent from the state's Educational Cost Sharing grant, 32 percent from the city of New London and 31 percent from various grants. The remaining 1 percent is categorized as coming from some "other" source.

Thursday's vote was the culmination of almost a month of budget deliberations for the board. After Rivera presented his recommended budget to the Board of Education, it held a public hearing on the budget and met with school principals and central office administrators in the past week to further scrutinize the spending plan.

Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio, who has said he will support whatever budget the Board of Education passes, is expected to present the Board of Education and general government budgets to the City Council on April 1.

"The council, I believe, will cut us; just be prepared. When we present to them, if we cut anything, it's going to be cut again," board President Margaret Mary Curtin cautioned the board during debate Wednesday night. "Keep in mind when we vote what is going to happen when (the budget) goes downtown."

If the City Council chooses to amend the budget, it can only amend the bottom line dollar amount. It would be up to the Board of Education to reconsider its own budget and identify line items from which the funding would be cut.

c.young@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung