OXFORD - Education Commissioner Susan Gendron has approved SAD 17's plan to remain a stand-alone district while cutting costs and streamlining operations.

The plan was required under the state's school reorganization law to reduce administrative costs. Depending on a school system's student enrollment and other factors, it had the option of consolidating with one or more districts, filing an alternative organization structure, which would mean joining with another school district for certain purposes such as sharing a superintendent and programs, or simply filing an alternative plan, which SAD 17 did.

The alternative plan requires cutting costs while continuing to provide quality educational programming for students.

"Thirty four have been approved so far," Superintendent Mark Eastman said Thursday of the alternative plans submitted to the Department of Education on Sept. 19.

SAD 17's plan was submitted a year after the education commissioner nixed its letter of intent to submit an alternative, rather than reorganization, plan to meet the state's reconsolidation legislation mandate.

Gendron had asked that the district consider all options for collaboration with SAD 39, but when that exploration proved a merger was not viable, SAD 17 directors voted to submit the alternative plan.

Eastman said Thursday that unlike districts' reorganizing, no vote is necessary to validate the alternative plan.

SAD 17 was allowed to file an alternative plan because under the reconsolidation law, a unit that has large enough enrollment or meets other criteria can remain its own system. It still must prepare a plan which streamlines functions without adversely affecting educational programming.

"They required us to identify cost savings in four key areas," Eastman explained. They are administration, special education, facilities, and maintenance and transportation.

"The downside for us was the cost of energy and where it far outweighed cuts we could make," Eastman said.

Despite that, Eastman said the district was able to identify savings in those areas. They include the reductions of full-time to 60/40 shared administrative position with SAD 39, and of a half-time administrative assistant position.

In the area of special education, the fiscal 2009 budget of $3,318,082 is $276,755 higher than the previous year but $100,620 less than the Essential Programs and Services allocation for special education.

Reductions have also been made to enable the district to budget less than comparable school systems for special education services including reducing out-of-district costs.

The $3,752,115 fiscal 2009 facilities and maintenance budget is $220,767 higher than the previous year, but the cost of electricity and heating oil has increased by more than $500,000, school officials said. In their plan, school officials argued that the district was not able to keep this budget cost under the EPS allocation without jeopardizing the health and safety of the students and staff.

In the area of transportation, the $2,401,494 fiscal 2009 budget is $157,041 higher than the previous year. It includes a $140,000 increase in diesel fuel. Reductions were made by installing a waste oil burner to lower the cost of heating the bus garage, eliminating a supervisor position, reassigning responsibilities and eliminating noon bus runs.

The transportation budget is $453,187 higher than the EPS allocation. School officials have asked the Department of Education to recognize the large geographical size of the district and the need for double bus runs and to revise the EPS template accordingly.

In the area of collaborative agreements, many of which are with SAD 39, the district said it continues to share purchasing or contract agreements, staff or staff training, technology or technology support and special education programs or support services.

The district also shares accounting, payroll and financial management services, transportation and vehicle maintenance, food service planning and purchasing and coordination of energy and facilities management and other agreements.

"We demonstrated where we had made deductions," Eastman said.