LISBON — For the third time in four months, voters Tuesday rejected a school budget of just over $15 million, saying it was too low.

The tally was 142-454.

A budget of $15.03 million was approved by the Town Council on Sept. 15 and, following the town’s charter, will be what the School Department will have until a budget is passed by voters.

The School Committee recommended a budget that was $234,188 more than that approved by the Town Council.

Voters rejected a $14.93 million budget on June 9 and a $14.88 million budget on Aug. 11, with the majority saying each time that it’s not enough money. In June, the tally was 308-790. In August, the tally was 141-473.

Since the August referendum, the Town Council had to commit taxes, locking in a maximum of $515,551 the town can raise for education and limiting its options for increasing the budget.

The Town Council previously battled with the School Committee over whether the unspent money from building the Lisbon High School gym should be put in the 2015-16 budget before the project was complete.

Over the past few months though, the project has come closer to completion, so council members voted to have the $154,237 left from the project included as revenue in the budget. That put the latest budget proposal slightly higher than those proposed in June and August.

In January, the Town Council told the School Committee it wanted a budget $600,000 lower than the previous year. The School Committee didn’t heed the warning and presented a flat-funded budget.