MEXICO – The Region 9 board has delayed advertising for a new vocational director until members have a better idea of the direction the state will take in its school-unit restructuring process.

Chairman Norman Clanton said Tuesday night that the duties of a vocational director may change if the governor’s proposal, or one similar to it, is adopted by the Legislature. Gov. John Baldacci has proposed reducing the number of school administrative units from 152 to 26, largely following the geography of the state’s vocational schools.

Director David Driscoll submitted his resignation to the board during its January meeting, effective at the end of June. He began his duties just over two years ago and has ushered the school through the beginning of an expansion project.

“We should have a better picture in a few weeks,” said Clanton.

Some have suggested that the state’s regional vocational boards may be eliminated, and that a vocational school within any new school administrative unit would become a school with a principal.

“I believe it’s important to have a board govern vocational education because there is the potential for technology programs to suffer because they would directly compete with academics. We need a better sense of a legislative decision,” he said.

The Legislature may act on a statewide restructuring of school units in mid-March.

“Under ordinary circumstances, we would have advertised by now, but these aren’t ordinary circumstances,” said Clanton.

The region 9 board’s next meeting is March 13.

“There may be a lot of qualified people looking for a position and the person we select will depend on what the region looks like,” he said.

The board also took a look at tentative 2007-2008 budgets for the secondary and adult education programs that show increases of 4.6 percent to 6.6 percent.

As tentatively proposed, the secondary budget would be $1,298,191, up from $1,216,421. The adult education budget would go to $257,089 from $240,998.

Some reductions are expected once public hearings are held in March or early April. Residents of the 16-town region will vote on both budgets in March.

In other matters, the board approved:

• submission of an application to the Maine Bond Bank for about $3.1 million to go toward the voter-approved 17,000-square-foot expansion of the vocational school. The total project is expected to cost about $4.3.

• a trip to Bangor for a group of students to participate in the Skills U.S.A. competition on March 15 and 16.

• a trip by the truck driving class to the Boston Truck Show on April 20.

• a wood harvesting competition when students from six vocational schools will compete on May 17 and 18 at Welch’s Campground in Dixfield. Students come from as far away as Houlton to participate.