Preston — The Board of Education will hold a public hearing July 31 to discuss how expected budget cuts would affect school programs and staffing, after two referendum defeats of the proposed $11.9 million 2018-19 school budget.

The board scheduled the hearing during a special meeting Tuesday in response to a request by the Board of Finance to hold a public forum to explain how budget cuts of $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 or a flat-funded budget would affect school programs and staffing.

School board Chairman Sean Nugent started Tuesday’s meeting by telling the 15 people in the audience that the Board of Education would not be making or discussing specific budget cuts Tuesday. He said he objected to the finance board's directive with specific dollar amounts, because the finance board doesn’t control specific content of the school budget.

The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. July 31 at Preston Veterans’ Memorial School. The third budget referendum is expected to be scheduled for late August or early September.

Nugent said the school board is limited by state law in what it can discuss once a referendum is scheduled. He said the Board of Education will hold a special meeting July 30 to discuss possible specific budget cuts. He said he would work with Superintendent Roy Seitsinger prior to that meeting on a list of possible cuts and answers to questions posed by residents and finance board members, including whether Preston should switch to a part-time superintendent.

School board member Ed Gauthier said in his opinion, the Board of Finance should host any public hearing on the budget, rather than the Board of Education. But school board members Thomas Turner and Cindy Luty said the school board owes it to the taxpayers to explain the budget.

During public comment Tuesday, several residents told the board that the referendum results were clear and that residents want to see cuts. Speakers urged that any new programs or staffing in the proposed budget should be eliminated and said preschool should return to a sliding fee scale, rather than the universal free program enacted in January 2015.

Resident Michele Bilodeau said she was “insulted” at the directive by the finance board to hold a public forum to teach residents about the budget and why spending needed to be increased. She said voters understood the budget and voted it down twice because it would raise property taxes.

Resident Nick Vegliante said he thinks residents do need an overview of how the budget would affect programs but he questioned how the town could attract an audience of more than the 40 to 60 regular attendees at town meetings and budget hearings. Other residents agreed that a public hearing likely wouldn’t attract a large crowd, and probably few new attendees.

c.bessette@theday.com