Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit’s would-be 2022-23 budget is lighter than in February, and is onto its next step: The district budget meeting, where residents vote on cost centers, is at 6:30 p.m. May 25 in the Chelsea Elementary School gym.

The district board set the date April 14. Thanks to flat health insurance, the loss of a legislative bill Superintendent of Schools Howie Tuttle said would have cost the district nearly $400,000, and other changes, the offer has gone from the $26,522,000 one the board received Feb. 10 to $25,592,116. The increased cost to towns has gone from about 3% to about 2.5%.

The updated proposal lists Alna’s share as $1,071,346, up 2.6% from 2021-22; Westport Island’s, $886,133, up 2.8%; Whitefield’s, $2,513,023, up 2.5%; Windsor’s, $3,511,766, up 2.4%; Somerville’s, $696,957, up 2.5%; Palermo’s, $2,030,679, up 2.6%; and Chelsea’s, $2,662,582, up 2.3%.

The budget that comes out of the May 25 meeting goes to a district-wide vote at the polls June 14.

Tuttle told members they each had to sign their name 56 times to complete all the budget vote notices. He got a roar of laughter from the meeting at CES and carried on YouTube when he told members, “If you get up to go to the bathroom, the whole thing stops.”

He said there had been problems before, such as someone signing something twice. After the pandemic began, district legal counsel said to make copies instead, but now it was back to all the signing, a “very strange” activity, Tuttle said.

Business Manager Michele Grant oversaw the effort. “One town at a time, so I don’t overwhelm any one person,” she said.

The board meets next at 6:30 p.m. May 5 at CES.