Voters decided Tuesday to authorize funding to reinstate art and music classes at two schools in Warren County, according to unofficial results.

The vote was 771-537 to bring back those programs at Greenwich Township Elementary School and Stewartsville Middle School, according to unofficial results posted on the Warren County Elections results website.

The district cut art classes for the 2021-22 school year and cut music classes in 2022-23.

A state funding formula change resulted in a loss of $2.1 million in state aid for the district. That’s a sizable chunk of the school district’s $18 million annual budget and resulted in the loss of 16 teachers since 2021, according to Greenwich Township Schools Superintendent Tina Neely.

Nobody wanted to cut art or music classes, but parents said they’d prefer cutting those classes in lieu of raising class sizes, Neely said.

Voters also agreed to reinstate the “basic skills instruction model” for the district. Three basic skills instruction staff members will provide children struggling in regular education classes with enrichment. The vote to restore basic skills instruction passed 708-590.

The votes allow the district to hire one art teacher and one music teacher at a cost of $200,000 and three basic skills instructors at a cost of $300,000.

The average annual cost per taxpayer to fund all five positions is $252.90.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at [email protected].