GRANTHAM — Voters on Tuesday night approved a $9.9 million school budget and a three-year teachers contract, but not without extensive debate about funding for a pilot preschool project and overall increased spending within the district.

Residents also spent about 30 minutes discussing two citizen petitions that School Board candidate Tanya McIntire had circulated and placed on the warrant.

The budget represented a 3.9 percent increase over last year, and the teachers contract accounted for $305,220 in step increases over three years. The budget passed on a vote of 112-41 following an hourlong debate. The teachers contract passed on a voice vote with little discussion.

Within the budget increase sits a roughly $34,000 hike to test out an in-house preschool program, which would consist of a half-day curriculum with one teacher and a teacher’s aide.

The program first will be opened to young children who have identified special needs. Addressing those needs early on can prove to be a cost saver down the road, resident Caroline Christie said.

“The data is there. It will save us in the long run by addressing these IEPs early on,” Christie said, using a term for individualized education plans.

Although several people spoke in favor of the pilot preschool project, others said enough is enough from a spending standpoint.

“I’m in favor of all of these services, but there has to be some way to rein this in. When does it end?” resident Jeff Figley said. “It’s killing me, and I don’t see an end to it.”

The budget also included money to send 17 additional students to Lebanon High School in this budget cycle.

The estimated tax rate impact of the new spending is about 53 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $133 on a $250,000 home.

Both of the petitioned articles McIntire presented failed on voice votes.

If they had passed, the district would have been able to reassign a student with specific educational needs to another district, private school or home-school and have the money allotted for that student in the district follow them. And Grantham would have been allowed to accept students from other districts.

The School Board didn’t support sending Grantham students elsewhere, but School Board Chairwoman Brittany Pye said the board would investigate the possibility of tuitioning students in.

McIntire, who unsuccessfully petitioned the school district and state last year to have taxpayers fund the cost of her son’s private school tuition, spoke to both petitions before others had a crack at them.

“This is not a public-private thing,” she said. “It’s if your child has a hardship and needs to be in a place where he can get a good education.”

She continued: “I’m about education. I’m not about particular schools.”

The articles weren’t favored by the body, and one resident saw them as an attempt to dismantle the public education system.

“If we want to have public education in this country, then students need to be educated in our public schools at the taxpayers’ expense,” Robert Meyer said. “If we do this, you will destroy public schools. ”

Voters also approved by voice vote the creation of a playground trust fund, and placing in that fund at the end of the budget year up to $50,000 in surplus money, if there is money left over.

Grantham Town Meeting will take place at 5 p.m. next Tuesday at Town Hall, with ballot voting for town and school officers between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603- 727-3248.