BETHEL — The SAD 44 board unanimously adopted proposed 2012-13 operating budgets of $9,989,269 for general education and $157,866 for adult and a community education Monday night.

There will be a district-wide town-meeting-style vote on the budgets at 7 p.m., May 29, at the Helen C. Berry Auditorium of Telstar High School.

Superintendent David Murphy said the proposed school budget is $261,969, or 2.69 percent, higher than the current year’s operating budget. The reasons for the higher budget include increased costs to the Region 9 School of Applied Technology because more Telstar students are attending, and built-in higher costs.

The local share to be raised in the proposed budget is 1.27 percent higher than this year’s figure.

The increase of the local shares are 2.80 percent for Andover, 1.3 percent for Bethel, 3.13 percent for Greenwood and 0.9 percent for Newry. Woodstock’s local share will decline by 0.2 percent.

Murphy said the proposed budget is slightly less than the adopted budget for the 2007-08 school year.

“It’s a good budget. We haven’t had to have any (job) reductions this year. We’ve retained the educational program and the staff,” he said.

A few years ago, several positions had to be eliminated to keep a school budget down.

Of the proposed $157,866 adult and community education budget, local funding would pay $79,068. The remainder would be paid by grants and enrichment class fees.

Once voters act on the budget on May 29, the accepted figure will be validated by a referendum vote June 12 in each member town.

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