MEXICO – The Region 9 School of Applied Technology board approved a secondary vocational budget for school year 2006-07 that, if passed, will reflect a 5 percent increase over the current budget.
Board members also agreed to send an adult and community education budget that reflects a 3.5 percent hike over this year’s budget to voters.
Voters in the 11-town vocational region will have a chance on April 13 to attend public hearings on the proposed budgets. The hearings have been tentatively set for 5:30 p.m. in the Telstar Regional High School library in Bethel, and at 7:30 p.m. at the Region 9 school on the River Road.
Voters will be asked to approve a secondary budget of $1,216,421, up about $59,000 from last year’s approved figure.
For adult education, that figure is $240,998, about $8,000 above the current operating budget.
Region 9 Director David Driscoll said following Tuesday night’s board meeting that the secondary budget increase is attributed to higher health insurance costs and 3 percent salary increases for school employees.
In adult education, the increase was attributed to insurance and salary increases, as well as funding of a part-time receptionist position that had been paid by a grant.
Driscoll said the vocational budget contains no money for the purchase of equipment.
“A lot was purchased by bond money a few years ago. At some point, we’re going to have to buy some,” he said.
Vocational school residents will vote on the budgets at 6:30 p.m. on May 16 in the River Road school.
In other matters at Tuesday’s meeting, the board voted to change the position of student services coordinator to assistant director effective July 1.
Cheryl Ellis, who holds the position now, will be expected to work toward administrative certification.
They also increased the number of sick leave days that can be carried over for instructors from 120 to 170, and for other staff members, from 60 to 121.
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