FARMINGTON – Exact tallies weren’t in from all nine towns in SAD 9 Tuesday evening, but the 2003-04 budget would pass thanks in part to support from larger towns such as Wilton and Farmington.

The budget as put forth to voters was $21,199,979. That’s just less than a 2.1 percent increase from the approved amount of $20,765,361 last year.

The leadership article, which covers administrative and school board costs and last year took from June until October to pass, is the only one involved in a close race late Tuesday night. Still, it was expected to pass. With seven of the nine towns reporting, that article was carrying a 851-763 vote.

Exact numbers for Weld were unavailable, but according to Town Clerk Carol Cochran, every article passed. The same goes for Wilton, where Town Clerk Linda Jellison reported every article had been approved by “big amounts.”

In New Vineyard, the center of strong opposition to the SAD 9 budget and home of the self-proclaimed SAD 9 budget advisory committee, voters did their best to stymie the budget. Of the 152 voters who turned out, less than a fifth voted in support of the budget. An example of their opposition to the budget is a 47 in favor, 105 opposed to the article approving money for preschool and K-12 instruction.

In Farmington, voters decisively adopted the budgets, with 588-187 approving the preschool and K-12 budget, 573-197 approving money for instructional support and 516-250 approving the leadership article. Farmington’s support is expected to offset close votes in the smaller towns, and allow for the budget to confirmed without a fight.

Temple was mostly supportive of the budget, with only about a third of the 81 ballots going against the budget. The 96 ballots cast in Vienna showed medium support of the budget. The only article that didn’t pass by at least 7 votes was the leadership article, which tied 47-47.

Meanwhile in Industry, a town hit with a sharp assessment increase due to local valuations, voters were not as forgiving. Of the 136 voters who turned out, it was back-and-forth tight races on each article. The leadership article however, was strongly shut down, with 50 in favor of paying and 87 against.

In New Sharon, 242 voters turned out at the polls. Every ballot items except for the leadership article passed, voted down by a tally of 113-126.

Major increases in set salary and insurance costs for district employees have been offset by the cutting of several positions, elimination of a bus route, a decrease in student supply money and the postponement of capital improvement projects, leaving a final increase over last year’s amount under $500,000.

The state will pay 56.41 percent, around $11.5 million, of the budget and the remaining 43.59 percent, or about $8.5 million, will be paid locally if the budget passes.

SAD 9 spends $453 less that the state average to educate its 1,834 elementary school students and about $92 less to educate its 938 high school students, according to superintendent Michael Cormier.

The board has also stressed repeatedly that they are sensitive to the bleak economy, but are feeling the pressure as state and federal mandates on education aren’t being backed up by dollars.

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