DIXFIELD – Residents of the 12 towns that comprise the new Western Foothills School District will have three chances next week to gather information and make comments on the first proposed budget.

Then, on Thursday, a districtwide meeting vote will be taken followed by a referendum vote in each of the 12 towns on June 9.

Proposed is a budget of $31,128,624 for 2009-10. That figure is slightly below the combined operating budgets of member districts SAD 21 in the Dixfield area; SAD 39 in the Buckfield area; and SAD 43 in the Rumford area for fiscal year 2008-09.

Superintendent Tom Ward said the budget includes agreed-upon raises for personnel. No staff members lost jobs because of federal stimulus money, retirements and attrition. However, a number of positions were eliminated and some current staff will be assigned additional duties to make up for the loss of positions, or be reassigned according to need.

Among those positions eliminated are assistant superintendent, director of the Pennacook Learning Center, and several teaching positions.

Included in the 21-article warrant is funding for laptops for students in all three high schools, adult education and vocational costs for Region 9 and Region 11, as well as regular and special education for kindergarten through grade 12.

The shares paid by the towns of Buckfield, Hartford, Mexico, Rumford and Sumner will decline from last year, while those paid by Byron, Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Hanover, Peru, and Roxbury will increase.

At the districtwide vote June 4, residents will have a chance to decide on a figure for each article. Included in the board-recommended $34.1 million budget is $4.9 million more than required under the state’s Essential Programs and Services model. That money will fund special education, extra-curricular and co-curricular programs, student transportation and maintaining student-teacher ratios.

The total figure devised through action on the 21 articles, will then appear on written ballot for the June 9 referendum.

The consolidated district, known also as Regional School Unit 10, has nearly 3,000 students.