MOHAWK, N.Y. (WKTV) - With a great voter turnout, Mohawk residents supported the school merger straw vote Thursday night with 980 residents voting yes and 570 voting no.

School administrators say the total number of 1550 votes is more than three times the amount of voters for their school budget.

Administrators say they knew they were in for a big turnout when they had 82 people vote just in the first 17 minutes of polls opening.

Where will Mohawk Central School District go from here? Superintendent Joyce Caputo says the vote shows that its residents are open to a merger and a 2 or 3 district merger won't be ruled out.

"If we go to state ed. and we get permission for a 3 district merger, we will then go forward with community advisory committees and go forward with a new study," says Caputo.

Going into the 2012 -2013 school year, Caputo says the Mohawk School Board will have to make some tough decisions but are hopeful the community will be behind them as they were with this vote.

"We are just thrilled that people took the information we gave, studied it, asked the important questions, and they wanted to be involved in the vision of education for our children," says Caputo.

The Mohawk School Board will meet next Monday January 23rd at 7 pm to discuss the district's next steps and invite any residents to come with suggestions.