MEXICO — The director of the Region 9 School of Applied Technology said meetings are scheduled to discuss the effects of less state aid to sending school systems.

The Western Foothills school system, which encompasses the towns of Rumford, Dixfield, Buckfield and others around them, will lose more than $400,000 this school year alone. The Telstar school system in Bethel will lose about $250,000. The two systems are Regional School Unit 10 and Regional School Unit 44, respectively.

Gammon said she will meet Friday with Western Foothills’ Superintendent Tom Ward and Bethel-area Superintendent David Murphy to begin discussions on budget cuts. Also on the agenda is a request to offer more academics at the vocational school and alignment of the school calendar for all three school systems.

On Jan. 5, the vocational board’s Finance Committee will meet with representatives of the vocational school staff to begin discussions on salaries and benefits for school year 2010-11. Staff salaries are generally the average paid to teachers in the sending districts.

“The Finance Committee has to consider cutbacks in the sending districts,” Gammon said.

All staff members must submit budget requests prior to the Christmas holiday. Gammon said the Finance Committee will begin developing a 2010-11 operating budget early next year. Residents vote on it in May.

The current operating budget is $1.9 million.

In other matters at Tuesday night’s board meeting, Jason Rowe, a computer instructor in the Turner school system’s adult education program, was hired as a computer instructor in the adult education program for six hours a week. The board approved offering an adult education hunter safety class, and for the first time, an adult education bow hunting safety class. Both will begin next year.

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