NEWPORT — The proposed $23.3 million Regional School Unit 19 budget for the upcoming fiscal year is up about 3 percent because of rising wage and energy costs coupled with losses of federal and state money.

As Superintendent William P. Braun explained to the Budget Committee Monday night, “We’re been trying to find dollars that just aren’t there.”

The exact impact on property taxes isn’t known, but some towns will automatically face an increase because of valuation increases.

Preliminary assessments range from Newport’s 24.1 percent increase to Dixmont’s 1.37 percent drop.

Of the $23.3 million budget, the local allocation is $7.59 million; debt service is $477,252; additional local funds are $630,253; the school nutrition account is $40,000 and the adult education request is $80,000.

Teacher’s salaries in the Newport-area district will rise by about 3.4 percent from $8.99 million to $9.2 million, based on increases negotiated in the second year of a three-year contract.

The district also wants to buy four school buses this year instead of three, increasing the cost about $116,000.

The cost of heating oil rose slightly more than 7 percent, from $315,847 to $339,407.

Reductions include the elimination of one elementary full-time position, a part-time high school music teacher and two special educational technicians. Six teachers are retiring and four of their successors will more than likely be at a much lower wage scale, according to the superintendent.

The district is also feeling the pinch of losing $199,000 in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money, $200,000 in Medicaid reimbursement and $134,000 state funding.

“We may have a pleasant surprise on Medicaid funding by the end of the year, but I’m not counting on it,” Braun told the committee.

Medicaid money has been traditionally used to offset the cost of educating special needs children in Maine. However, federal officials have determined that methods used to handle the money at some school districts don’t comply with the law, so the funding has declined significantly in all school districts during the past two years. Braun estimates that about 15 percent of the district’s 2,380 students are receiving special education services.

Although the district is going through some austerity measures, two years ago it was much worse, Braun said. “We laid off 19 teachers back then. If we reduced this budget any further, we’d either have to cut programs or close buildings, and neither one would be acceptable,” the superintendent said.

The board will vote on the budget on Monday, May 7, or Wednesday, May 9. If approved, voters will have their say at a district meeting on Tuesday, June 5, and then validate the results in the voting booth one week later on June 12.