POLAND — Voters in Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls approved the Regional School Unit 16 budget Tuesday. The new budget is $21.2 million, a $382,950 increase over last year’s budget.

Mechanic Falls voted 103-80; Minot voted 76-52; and Poland voted 168-124. The total vote was 347-256. 

“It’s a 1.84 percent increase, not a big increase, especially with staff and a 9.4 percent increase in insurance,” Superintendent Tina Meserve said. “We had a lot of hard work. But it’s still a 6 percent local increase; that’s a lot for a small community. It gives me confidence in our budget process and that our voters know what they’re voting for.”