BETHEL – SAD 44 finalized the decision Monday to extend the laptop computer program into the ninth grade at Telstar High School.

Expanding the program will cost the district $25,800 and will provide laptops for 74 ninth-grade students and 12 teachers, according to Superintendent David Murphy.

Murphy said the district can use $22,401 in carryover funds from last year. As for the balance of $3,399, he said, “We can take that from the general fund with no problem.”

Of the $22,401 in carryover funds, $150 would come from the technology account, $1,319 from Title V innovative education, and $20,932 from the rural low-income account provided through the Title VI program.

Andover representative Sidney Pew expressed the board’s dilemma, saying: “This may be a risky gamble with no real guarantees from the state that it will follow through with its commitment. But if we don’t expand the program, our students will miss out on a program that is proving worthwhile.”

The rest of the board agreed, and Murphy will proceed with the order with Apple Computer. The ninth-grade program is expected to begin in the coming school year.

The deal with Apple Computer is a four-year lease option, with an agreement with Apple to upgrade the program during the fifth year.

In other business, the directors named James Lunney, a teacher in the district since 1983, as part-time athletic director at Telstar Middle and High School, and approved Tammy Davis as dean of students at Telstar.