MECHANIC FALLS — The proposed budget for Regional School Unit 16 has decreased by about $99,000 because of lower-than-expected insurance costs.

When presented at last week’s school board meeting, the budget included a 10 percent hike in premiums, according to Chairwoman Mary Martin.

The district has since learned the increase will be 7 percent, saving the district almost $100,000.

The proposed budget for the three towns — Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland — is $22.69 million, a 1.96 percent increase from this year. Superintendent Ken Healey said his administrative team has made “a concerted effort to come in status quo (t0) contain and maintain our programs.”

Healey said administrators were also asked to come up with three items to make the spending plan “a little stronger for next year.”

Added Martin, “The three we identified are critical.”

Those three are, which total $218,000: A full-time school counselor for Elm Street and Minot Consolidated schools, a literacy coach and updates to the wireless technology for grades kindergarten through 6.

Healey said the literacy coach would work with all grades in RSU 16, but emphasize the elementary levels. He added the trajectory for reading levels at the elementary levels “are not upward.”

“It is either flat or going downward,” Healey said.

He said most of the budget increases are due to staff changes, increases in benefits or a significant hike in proposed spending on special education, attributable to the district’s having to tuition students to other schools because it does not offer certain programs or services.

Business Manager Stacie Field said under the latest proposed spending plan, annual taxes on a $100,000 home would increase $52.02 in Mechanic Falls and $1.85 in Poland, and decrease $5.43 in Minot.

The next step in the budget-approval process is a districtwide meeting at Poland Regional High School, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 24. After that, each town will hold a referendum May 14.