The Jamestown School Board passed an 11th hour budget by a vote of 8-1, allowing the district to continue paying its bills for the next year.

The school's 2002-03 budget ran out on Monday.

The budget was originally proposed in May, and was scheduled for passage at the June 23 meeting. With two school directors not in attendance, however, not enough board members could agree to pass the budget.

Five votes are required to pass the budget; it received four in the first round of voting.

The delays were due to a dispute over the debt service the school board would pay for the controversial high school renovations project. Board members Debbie Miller, Paul Csonka and Paul Tucker voted down the budget, saying they wanted to wait until a vote was taken on the school renovations project before they okayed spending money to pay for it.