Residents of Freeport, Durham and Pownal will go to their respective polling places Tuesday, June 10, to vote on a $27,282,247 Regional School Unit 5 budget for 2014-2015.

The bottom line is slightly more than originally proposed, as residents increased two of the 21 budget lines during the budget meeting, held on May 28 at Freeport High School. The original plan called for $27,248,990 in spending, an overall increase of approximately 5 percent.

Voters amended the amount for student and staff support by about $5,000, following a suggestion that substitute teachers be paid more. They increased the money for regular instruction from $11,458,449 to $11,486,631.

About 200 residents of the three towns attended the meeting, which lasted for two hours. Much time was spent debating the increase for student and staff support, but the remainder of the meeting flowed relatively quickly.

Richard Johnson of Durham had arranged for a bus to pick Durham residents up at the Eureka Community Center and take them to the meeting. Bo-Mar Transportation had agreed to provide the service free of charge, but as it turned out, the bus ride was not necessary. Johnson and only two other people showed up to take advantage of the offer, so they decided to travel by car.

The meeting began at 6:30.

“We let the bus go at go at 10 minutes of 6,” Johnson said. “I tried.”

Residents of the three towns will vote on a budget proposal that would equate to about a 6.65 tax increase in Durham, 6.1 percent in Pownal and 3.5 percent in Freeport.

As they vote, the town of Freeport is negotiating with RSU 5 to withdraw from the school unit that began in 2009.

Pownal residents also will be filling municipal posts next Tuesday, though all the races are uncontested. George W. Anderson Jr. is the only candidate for the Board of Selectmen. Anderson will succeed Fred Fauver, who was on the board for two, three-year terms. Incumbent Kathryn Brown is running unopposed for the RSU 5 board. Brown is the board’s vice chairwoman. Lorraine Merrill, a longtime member of the Cemetery Commission, is the only person on the ballot for that position. Pownal’s annual town meeting is June 16.

A CLOSER LOOK

Polling times and places for the Tuesday, June 10, state and Regional School Unit 5 budget referendum are: Durham, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Durham Community School; Freeport, 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Freeport High School; Pownal, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Town Office.