Waterford — After three weeks of budget hearings during which the Board of Finance left departmental budget proposals mostly intact, the board's six members did the same to the proposed school budget Wednesday night.

The board members drilled Superintendent Thomas W. Giard, Assistant Superintendent Craig Powers, district Finance Director Joseph Mancini and school board Chairwoman Jody Nazarchyk on individual line items in the $47.3 million budget broadly for nearly two hours Wednesday.

Board of Finance member John "Bill" Sheehan had said at the beginning of the board's budget review on March 7 that extreme uncertainty about the future of state aid would mean few Board of Finance cuts, and probably higher taxes.

The board held to that promise Wednesday, calling the budget proposal that the school board submitted "reasonable."

The proposed budget would increase school spending by $1.4 million, a jump mostly driven by union-negotiated increases in staff salaries and benefits, health insurance, heating, energy and transportation costs and tuition for magnet schools and special education.

Only about $48,000 would go to expenditures outside of those categories, Giard said.

Wednesday's meeting came after a series of budget hearings throughout March at which the board passed tentative versions of the budgets for the town's departments, spending on capital projects and town commissions and boards.

On Wednesday night the board also approved tentative budget proposals for insurance, the Retirement Commission and debt service.

The board will take a final vote on its townwide budget proposal Monday before sending the proposal to the final legislative body to consider the town budget each year, the 22-member Representative Town Meeting.

m.shanahan@theday.com