MEXICO – A proposed 2005-06 Region 9 School of Applied Technology budget released Tuesday night seeks an 8 percent hike for the secondary vocational program and 5 percent jump in adult education over the current year.
Region 9 Director David Driscoll said most of the increases for both budgets can be attributed to salary hikes and higher fuel and health insurance premium costs.
As proposed, the secondary budget is $1,144,776, up about $90,000 from the 2004-05 adopted budget. For adult education, those figures are $232,235, up about $11,000 from this year’s figure.
Driscoll said the vocational school’s instructors received a salary hike of about 3 percent. The salaries of vocational school instructors are determined by the average salary paid to teachers from the region’s sending districts.
He said the position of computer technician/instructor, which had been funded through federal funds during the past year, is being picked up by Region 9 at a cost of about $21,000. The position of office manager was also changed to administrative assistant, resulting in a $2,500 salary increase.
Voters in the region will decide whether to approve the budgets in June. Before that, however, the board must adopt a budget, expected in April, and two public hearings in May will be held.
In other matters at Tuesday’s board meeting, Driscoll said plans for renovating and repairing the River Road school are going ahead, but the way the region will get the work done will be different than expected.
Bids had gone out and a construction manager had been tentatively chosen when Driscoll said the board learned that it must go through the state Bureau of General Services for the project.
Plans are to replace the roof, install an elevator, build walls between two of the vocational programs, and complete several other renovation tasks at a cost not to exceed $1 million. Voters must approve the project. That vote may be in June, said Driscoll.
The funds are expected to come from the Department of Education revolving loan program which offers a 60/40 match of a no-interest loan and a grant.
Bids will go out again, this time with the assistance of the Bureau of General Services. If approved by voters, the project is expected to be completed before the beginning of school year 2005-06.
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