RUMFORD – Voters have a chance today to decide whether to approve $1.4 million secondary and $255,300 adult and community technical education budgets for school year 2007-08.

Voting takes place at the Region 9 School of Applied Technology at 6:30 p.m.

As proposed, SAD 43 would pay $597,000 to send almost 70 students to the secondary vocational school; SAD 21 would pay about $360,000 to send 42 students; and SAD 44 would pay about $281,000 to send just over 30 students.

The remainder of the budget is paid by the unaffiliated towns of Hanover, Gilead and Upton, which send a total of about a half-dozen students.

The proposed budgets are up about 7 percent from budgets adopted for school year 2006-07 largely due to pay raises for staff and higher costs for fuel and utilities.

Next year’s secondary budget is likely to rise substantially higher because of the $4.9 million renovation and expansion project scheduled to begin in late summer.

Voters approved the construction project in January that will allow the establishment of two new vocational programs in early childhood development and automotive technology.

Following Tuesday’s budget votes, the Region 9 board will hold its regular monthly meeting. Among the items up for discussion is a update on the hiring of a new director, election of a vice-chairman and adoption of several policies.