MEXICO – When the Region 9 School of Applied Technology board holds a special meeting Tuesday, members will grapple with whether to drop one or two vocational programs.

That action may leave at least two of the sending districts wondering how they will meet the needs of their students.

“We’ll review the programs and the budget options and take action if deemed appropriate,” said Brenda Gammon, director of the vocational school.

Two programs that may come under scrutiny are diversified occupations, which has 25 students from all three sending districts and employs two teachers and one educational technician, and cooperative education, which has four students and one teacher.

Gammon said the board has questioned the possibility of dropping diversified occupations because of the number of students in the program.

She said during the past seven years, an average of 30 students have enrolled, and sometimes the vocational school has had a waiting list.

Diversified occupations provides life skills and some vocational training for mostly freshman and sophomore students, many of whom are special needs students.

SAD 43 Superintendent Jim Hodgkin told his board Monday night that his district can provide the same type of education. He said the district already offers similar programs and that the one offered by Region 9 is a duplication of effort for SAD 43.

“They have both been outstanding over the years, but we have to be realistic,” he said, referring to money spent on cooperative education and diversified occupations.

He said that figure is more than $100,000.

In SAD 21, however, Superintendent Tom Ward said Dirigo High School does not have anything similar. “We’d have to come up with some kind of a program to meet those needs. I’m not sure how we’d do that,” he said.

SAD 44 Superintendent David Murphy said his district also does not have such a program, but expects the district could put something together for diversified occupations and cooperative education.

It’s important to know soon because of the budget building process his district is undertaking, he said.

Cooperative education provides junior and senior students with a chance to work at jobs under school supervision. If both programs are eliminated, then that portion of money the sending districts have been providing to Region 9 could be used in the local districts, Murphy said.

Gammon said this year that SAD 43 sends nine diversified occupations students, SAD 21 sends 10, and SAD 44 sends six. In cooperative education, SAD 21 and SAD 44 each send two students.

She said she realizes Region 9 must make some cuts to its budget, particularly because of the added funding each sending district will be assessed because of the renovation and building project, but she said the number of students affected must be considered.

She said some cuts may be made through a study of salaries and insurance buyouts. She said, too, that she is meeting with superintendents and a couple of Region 9 board members today to discuss vocational offerings.

Tuesday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Region 9 located on River Road.