REHOBOTH — Spend $471,211 more than the state allows or have another Town Meeting.

Voters go to the polls today to decide just that: Whether Rehoboth should exceed a Massachusetts law that limits how much taxes can be raised from one year to the next to primarily give the school district more money.

It is the third year in a row that residents have been asked this. The first two attempts to override the Proposition 2½ mandate were overwhelmingly rejected by voters, even though taxpayers approved operating budgets that exceeded the cap at the Annual Town Meeting before the election.

At this year’s meeting three months ago, the Finance Committee presented a town operating budget that didn’t exceed the levy limit. The committee gave a $524,000 increase over last year’s town allocation for the schools. The total amount toward the district’s operating expenses would have been $11.22 million if approved.

But the voters gave more after school officials said the extra money would restore 11 positions at Beckwith Middle and Palmer River Elementary schools. The amount approved was $11.67 million, or $446,211 over what the Finance Committee was recommending the district receive.

A subsequent approval today means the school district will receive the additional money to restore the teachers. Another $25,000 will also be directed to the Rehoboth Agricultural and Natural Resources Preservation Trust Fund, which is used primarily to buy land to protect the town’s rural and open space from developers.

Taxpayers will have to return to a special Town Meeting to redistribute the money, without exceeding the cap, if the majority of the town’s 7,327 registered voters reject the referendum. Rehoboth’s entire operating budget will be revisited and all its departments’ costs will be reviewed.

Polls are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are three voting sites in town, one for each precincts. Those voting from precinct one cast ballots at the Town Offices off Peck Street; precinct two votes at the Senior Center at 55 Bay State Rd.; and precinct three votes at the South Rehoboth Fire Station on Pleasant Street.

apina@projo.com