DIXFIELD — Regional School Unit 10 directors took a first look at a proposed budget of $38.44 million for school year 2016-17 that shows a 4.7 percent increase over the current year’s budget.

Superintendent Craig King said he is aiming for an increase of 3.5 percent, which will be considered during the April 25 board meeting.

Included in the proposal are three part-time secretary positions for the district’s elementary schools and an extension of last year’s new teaching positions at Meroby, Dirigo and Rumford elementary schools.

Public hearings on the board-adopted budget will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, at Dirigo High School and Thursday, May 19, at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.

A districtwide, town-meeting-style budget vote is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, at Mountain Valley High School. The figure determined at that meeting will be voted on in the individual towns June 14.

In other business Monday night, end-of-school-year trips were approved:

• Overnight trips to a portion of the Appalachian Trail in Newry on May 27 and 28, and to the Flagstaff area on June 15 and 16 for the Outing Club;

• A Rumford Elementary School grade five two-day trip to the Bryant Pond 4-H area for fifth-graders on May 16 and 17;

• A Dirigo High School Ecology Club overnight trip to the coast June 23 and 24;

• Mountain Valley High School’s Project Graduation trip to Mt. Cranmore in New Hampshire;

• Dirigo High School’s Project Graduation trip to Mt. Cranmore;

• Buckfield Junior-Senior High School’s Project Graduation trip on the Songo River Queen in Naples; and

• Buckfield’s eighth-grade class trip to Boston on May 26 and 27.

The school calendar for 2016-17 was also approved. It includes two teacher-only days and two student days prior to Labor Day, King said.

The board also adopted a new policy that provides directives for high school students who want to graduate early. 

The next regular school board meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, at Hartford-Sumner Elementary School in Sumner.