DIXFIELD — Residents of the 12 member towns of Regional School Unit 10 will go to the polls Tuesday to act on a proposed $36.71 million budget for school year 2015-16.

The proposed amount is about 1.5 percent higher than the current year’s operating budget.

During last year’s budget vote, the RSU 10 board cut or reduced 44 positions. This year, several are returned to the budget, including half-time music, art, physical education, library services, guidance and social worker positions and some additional administrative and special education hours.

If approved, all but two of the member towns will see their school taxes drop. Those with an increase are Hanover, which would go up about $800, and Roxbury, which would pay an additional $25,700. Roxbury’s hike is due to the wind turbine project that is taxed for the first time this year. 

Rumford’s share is expected to drop by $108,000; Peru, down $57,200; Mexico, $26,300; Byron, $39,300; Buckfield, $39,800; Sumner, $9,300; Hartford, $21,300; Canton, $32,300; Carthage, $10,300; and Dixfield, $54,800.

General purpose aid to education will provide about 52 percent of the total budget; local assessments will pay 45 percent and about 3 percent will come from miscellaneous sources.

Residents approved all articles that comprise the total budget figure at a districtwide, town meeting-style session last month.

If the budget is not approved by a majority of district voters, then the RSU 10 board would be required to begin the process again. The district has a student enrollment of about 2,600.

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