A second attempt to approve a budget-balancing school bill failed Thursday afternoon on a party-line 49 to 29 vote. It needed at least 54 votes, a two-thirds majority, to pass.

The bill would help lawmakers balance the new budget by using a bookkeeping tactic to shift 1.7 billion dollars in school aid from the current fiscal year to the one that begins Monday.

Supporters say failure to pass the bill by Sunday night would force bigger increases in taxes or deeper budget cuts.