MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS — By a mere six votes, voters in Middletown Springs adopted a town school district spending plan last week that will up their homestead tax rate 2 cents, Town Clerk Laura Castle officially reported Thursday.

The $1,703,848 budget for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education for the 2011 school year is about $195,000 less than the budget approved last year but the tax rate will increase from $1.51 per $100 of assessed property value to $1.53 after the town's common level of appraisal was factored in, according to Louis Milazzo, business manager for the Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union that oversees Middletown Elementary School.

The vote was 188-182.

Also on their school, voters opted to reject a proposal that would have allowed the town School Board to look into tuitioning out all of the town's students and possibly even closing their school in the future.

That vote was 207-156.

In a surprise contested race, write-in candidate Michael Lamson beat out Robin Hodyl for Select Board member for the next three years by a ballot vote of 210-138, Castle said.

Voters also adopted both the town's General Fund budget for 2010-11 of $183,411 and the municipal highway budget of $366,230.