DIXFIELD — The Regional School Unit 56 budget and bus garage construction were approved in all four towns Tuesday.

The tallies for the $13.56 million budget were Canton, 59-24, Carthage, 31-12, Dixfield 154-59, and Peru 108-79, for a total of 352-174.

The tallies for the $1.1 million bus garage were Canton, 61-20, Carthage, 33-10, Dixfield, 153-62, and Peru 101-85, for a total of 348-177.

The 2023-24 school budget will mean higher assessments for all four towns: Canton 12.86%, Carthage 1.09%, Dixfield 3.90% and Peru 3.74%.

The garage will be built near Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield, Superintendent Pam Doyen said previously. Plans are for a 40- by 80-foot metal building with two bays, a bathroom, an office and a mezzanine.

At a May budget meeting, voters approved transferring $565,000 from this year’s fund balances to the bus garage capital reserve fund, which has $500,000. Doing so would cover nearly all the cost, Doyen said.

The district has rented a garage for its buses and other vehicles from Dixfield for more than 30 years but the lease to rent the garage was raised this year by $8,000, Doyen said.

In school board elections, longtime Director Bruce Ross of Dixfield lost his bid for another three-year term to Kathleen Szotek of Dixfield by a vote of 127-84. Director Natalie Sneller of Canton ran unopposed and received 79 votes for another three-year term. Tina Courtway of Peru also ran unopposed and received 150 votes to fill a vacant seat.

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