MEXICO — Public hearings on the proposed Vocational Region 9 budgets for secondary education and adult and community education were held in Bethel and Mexico on Wednesday night with few in attendance.

Region 9 School of Applied Technology director Brenda Gammon and several board members presented the $2,115,858 secondary budget and $312,055 Adult and Community Education budget for 2013-14.

The spending plans, which are expected to be adopted by the Region 9 board on April 3, are down from this year.

Gammon said this year’s $2,138 million vocational budget used about $80,000 in carryover funds. She and the board were concerned that additional funding would be needed to cover the costs of the state’s share of teacher retirement. However, she learned this week that the governor’s proposal does not apply to vocational schools.

She said the proposed budget dropped by about $20,000 because one of the mortgages has been paid off. She also said the board wants to use about $58,000 in carryover funds toward the total budget.

The current year’s adult and community education budget is $318,909. Additional grant money has resulted in a slight drop in the upcoming year’s operating budget.

Residents will vote on the budgets at 6:30 p.m. May 1 at the Region 9 school in Mexico. The monthly board meeting will follow.