MEXICO — Residents on Wednesday night overwhelmingly approved a $2.11 million secondary budget and a $312,000 adult and community education budget for Region 9 School of Applied Technology.

Director Brenda Gammon said the 2013-14 secondary budget is down about $25,000 because one of the mortgages on the River Road school has been paid off.

About $140,000 of the adult education budget will be paid by districts that send students to the program and a little more than $160,000 will be paid by grants.

Following the vote, the cooperative board met. Gammon said the board approved a three-year lease-purchase of a new lathe for the metal trades program at a total cost of $30,000.

In other matters, the board said goodbye and presented a gift to SAD 44 and Region 9 board member Lynn Arizzi of Bethel, who will be leaving her positions next month. The SAD 44 board is expected to appoint a new member within the next few weeks.

Arizzi and her husband, Joseph, are returning to her home area in the South.

Also on Tuesday, according to Gammon:

* Forestry program students will attend a competition with other state vocational school forestry students May 8-10 in Houlton. These students have created a display window in downtown Rumford.

* New members of the National Technology Honor Society will be inducted at a special breakfast at 8 a.m. May 15.

* The Region 9 annual awards night is set a 6 p.m. May 29 at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford.