RUMFORD — The RSU 10 board passed on Monday a proposed 2013-14 operating budget of $36,181,848 that reflects a 2.95 increase over the current year’s figure.

Residents of the 12 member towns will now have a chance to ask questions or make comments on the proposal at two public hearings set for 6:30 p.m., May 22, at the Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico and at 6:30 p.m., May 23, at the Buckfield Town Hall.

The first vote will be taken during a districtwide, town meeting-style election at 6:30 p.m., May 30, in the Muskie Auditorium of Mountain Valley High School in Rumford. The final figure that results from that vote will then be validated in each of the member towns by referendum on June 11.

The proposed budget does not include the possibility that the state may require the district to pay the state’s share of teacher retirement, which would be $448,000 for RSU 10, Superintendent Tom Ward said.

“We need some options if this happens,” Ward told the board and the nearly 50 people who attended Monday’s meeting at Rumford Elementary School. “We’ve protected the educational part of the budget. We can’t go any further.”

He said he does not want to impact the current student/teacher ratio.

If the state requires the teacher retirement payment, he suggested that the board change its thinking about middle school athletics.

“I’m not recommending cutting (this) but, in a worst case scenario, we don’t have any other place to go,” he said.

His suggestion includes working with the communities for volunteers to coach the sports offered in the middle schools.

“I don’t think we’re going to have to go there,” he said. “But these are extreme times.” 

The state legislature has not yet acted on whether it will require school districts to pay those funds.

As the proposed budget stands now, school taxes would affect member towns as follows:

* Buckfield, up 2.71 percent, or $38,000, to $1,440,305.

* Byron, up nearly 3 percent, or $8,056, to $278,505.

* Canton, down 1.6 percent, or -$11,183, to $679,443.

* Carthage, up 2.7 percent, or $9,498, to $362,719.

* Dixfield, down .55 percent, or $9,701, to $1,765,201.

* Hanover, up 7.8 percent, or $19,421, to $268,736.

* Hartford, up 1.2 percent, or $15,186, to $1,251,633.

* Mexico, down 4.6 percent, or -$60,420, to $1,254,807.

* Peru, down, 3.67 percent, or -$57,212, to $1,505,338.

* Roxbury, up 17.97 percent, or $71,478.

* Rumford, down 1.4 percent, or -$92,774, to $6,408,213.

* Sumner, up 2.3 percent, or $16,503, or $719,237.

Affecting the amount for each town is state valuation and the number of students who attend RSU 10.

Several cuts were made to the adopted $36.182 million budget, including elimination of several educational technicians, maintenance reduction, half of the laptop purchase program, elimination of a part-time industrial arts teacher and cutting a proposal to add another pre-K program at Dirigo Elementary School.