MEXICO — Several Region 9 board members used most of Wednesday to tour all the vocational programs offered at the school as one way to better understand what is offered, as well as to help make decisions during budget development deliberations.

Board Chairman Norman Clanton said a special workshop to review all that was seen and experienced has been set for 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at the school.

“It’s been a very useful day,” he said. “We got some ideas on how to make a good school a great school.”

He said board members should tour each vocational program at least every other year so they can be better informed and keep up with the technological changes.

The board is about to begin its budget process. A Finance Committee meeting is set for 2:30 p.m. prior to the special board workshop.

The current year’s operating budget is $2.1 million. Whether that figure may go up or down is unknown at this time.

School Director Brenda Gammon said the principals of the three participating high schools, Telstar, Mountain Valley and Dirigo, will visit two of the vocational school’s programs each month in an effort to understand what happens at the school.

She’d like to have teachers from the participating high schools also visit Region 9 so that they, too, would have a better idea of the education offered.