OXFORD – SAD 17 officials have begun an in-depth analysis of what the state’s school consolidation plan will mean to residents, and particularly taxpayers in member towns.

“What does it mean for towns in terms of tax impact?” Superintendent Mark Eastman said is one of the critical questions he and Business Manager Cathy Fanjoy will address. They will look at their budget and the SAD 39 budget plus state subsidies to get a handle on the ramifications of the consolidation plan that proposes to merge SAD 17 and SAD 39.

While the Legislature continues to debate the merits of the ninth version of the education plan that is contained in the $6.3 million state budget package, SAD 17 has been in an enviable position for months in knowing what the final plan will probably mean to this district.

“It hasn’t changed since version one,” Eastman said of the expected mandate that SAD 17 and SAD 39 (Buckfield, Sumner and Hartford) merge.

The plan has about 40 amendments attached to it as it goes through the full Legislature this week, but Eastman said he is confident that the end result will be the same for SAD 17.

The Appropriations Committee voted unanimously May 31 to endorse the plan’s final language.

Because of that probability, Eastman said the districts have been able to plan ahead and take a look at the final impact.

“We’re going to do a serious, reliable analysis of what consolidation will mean. We hope to have the financial impact ready for June 18,” said Eastman of the report he expects to deliver to the SAD 17 directors at their June 18 meeting.

Eastman said that if the state’s goal is to save money by enforcing creating the consolidation plan, the district must be able to see what the impact will be to taxpayers.

“We want to make sure their suppositions are correct,” he said.

SADs 17 and 39 already share programs, such as the adult education classes, plus they recently approved a one-year pilot program to share the SAD 30 superintendent with SAD 17 as a half-time assistant superintendent.