FARMINGTON – SAD 9 residents approved a nearly $24 million budget by a vote of 346-95 Wednesday.

“We are very pleased with the results,” Superintendent Michael Cormier said. “This was an incredibly difficult budget season for everyone involved, and we appreciate the taxpayers’ support.”

The vote on the 2008-09 spending plan was the second step in the voting process. Last week, the 12 spending articles were acted on by voters. This week gave residents the opportunity to either approve or reject them with a single “yes” or “no” vote.

The 2009 fiscal year budget calls for a 4.1 percent increase of the local assessment, and a state allocation decrease of almost 1 percent.