DIXFIELD — Residents of Regional School Unit 10 approved a 2013-14 operating budget of $36.5 million during a referendum Tuesday.

With 11 of the 12 towns in the RSU reporting, the unofficial vote was 942-641. Results from Hanover were not available. The towns of Byron, Buckfield and Sumner voted against the budget.

Newly appointed Superintendent Craig King said he was very happy with the voting results.

“I’m very pleased that the budget passed,” he said. “Now we can concentrate on opening the schools for the new year.”

This is the second time district residents have voted on a school budget. The approved budget is about $400,000 more than the first, which was defeated in June.

Results by town from Tuesday’s vote are as follows: Byron, 7-15; Buckfield, 50-54; Canton, 41-7; Carthage, 34-18; Dixfield, 134-65; ; Hartford, 33-28; Mexico, 144-140; Peru, 104-47; Roxbury, 32-24; Rumford, 342-195; and Sumner, 21-48.

During the first vote on a proposed $36.18 budget, residents of the member towns defeated the proposal by 32 votes: 1,541 to 1,573. The two largest towns of Rumford and Mexico defeated the budget, along with several smaller towns. The towns of Dixfield, Canton, Carthage and Peru voted in favor of the original figure.

The difference between the two budget amounts was attributed to the state. The Legislature mandated, since the first vote, that all districts pay a significant portion of the state’s share of teacher retirement costs. For RSU 10, that figure is $468,000.

The RSU 10 board cut $128,000 from the original spending plan. Despite the higher budget figure, the local share of school funding decreased for many of the member towns, King said.

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