Schools in Sabattus, Wales and Litchfield have a budget for 2014-15.

Voters in all three towns approved RSU 4’s $18.1 million spending package Tuesday, sweeping away some of the bad feelings left by 2013’s summer-long budget controversy that ended after three votes.

“I think the communities probably did some thinking and realized that investing in education is really important to the future, and I think they felt badly what happened last year,” Superintendent James Hodgkin said.

The total vote was 484 in favor and 403 against.

In Sabattus, voters approved the budget by only three votes, 171-168.

The margin was wider elsewhere. In Litchfield, it passed with 213 in favor and 155 against. In Wales, the vote was 100-80.

The budget proposal, approved by the RSU 4 board April 30, calls for a 2.8 percent increase.

“I think people just generally understood, and they wanted to send a message that said they want the staff and schools to feel their support,” Hodgkin said.

Most of this year’s increase was because of a couple of items, Hodgkin said. Insurance costs rose 9.5 percent, accounting for almost $200,000 in new expenses. The school district was also mandated to add about $120,000 worth of MaineCare funds in the budget.

The budget also includes a pair of new positions: a special education teacher for Oak Hill High School and a special education technician, who will probably be assigned to the high school, too.

The budget approval will also make for a less stressful summer for the schools’ leadership.

“I’ll be able to focus more on education and not on finance,” Hodgkin said.

dhartill@sunjournal.com