The Lawrence school board unanimously agreed Monday to spend no more than $106.7 million to operate district schools in the next year.

If that sounds like a lot of cash for 15 elementary schools and seven secondary buildings, Board President Austin Turney suggested folks not get too excited.

“There are aspects of this form that could cause people to have worries that may not be justified,” he said.

Turney, a retired certified public accountant, said the budget report mandated by the state made the district’s pot of gold appear more fantasy than reality.

After two people questioned the board briefly during a public comment period, the board concluded months of deliberation by committing to a 2003-2004 spending blueprint that mirrored the previous year’s budget in terms of total dollars. Last year, actual expenditures were $106.8 million.

Key elements of the new package:

l 3.5 percent increase in salary and benefits for the district’s 1,650 employees at a cost of $1.8 million.

l $2.1 million in budget reallocations and reductions, including elimination of American Sign Language instruction.

l $1 million in savings associated with closure of East Heights, Centennial and Riverside elementary schools.

Overall, the package might please some taxpayers. The mill levy for public schools was set at 47.8 mills, a decline of 1.9 mills from last year. A mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 in assessed valuation.

Kathy Johnson, the district’s budget director, said that the new budget for capital outlay expenditures expanded by $5.5 million to a total of $9.5 million.

It was done in anticipation that major renovation projects would be necessary since voters rejected a bond issue in April that would have financed school construction and renovation.

“That allows them to work with that plan,” she said.

Turney said the board expected to receive from the administration next month a revised five-year facility plan that identifies projects that might be tackled.