OXFORD – SAD 17 directors’ Chairman Ron Kugell told members Monday night that they should attend tonight’s meeting with state Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron prepared to identify all the problems they expect if forced to merge with SAD 39, then let the state figure out how to deal with it.

“Then the ball’s in their court,” said Kugell.

School board members and selectmen from the eight SAD 17 towns and three towns in SAD 39, plus members of the newly-formed reorganization committees have been invited to attend the meeting with Gendron at the Paris Elementary School beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Gendron extended the invitation to local officials as an opportunity to discuss the possible merger of SADs 17 and 39 – a merger once touted by state officials as a role model for successful school consolidation, but later dismissed by many local officials later as financially unfeasible.

Superintendent Mark Eastman told SAD 17 directors Monday night that state officials agree that financial templates show a merger between the two school districts would be devastating to SAD 17 taxpayers, but they are hoping through discussions to find a “creative way” to make the merger work.

“They don’t think there’s any way to make those numbers work,” said Eastman. “We have to find a new creative way to make it work.”

In August, SAD 17 board members voted to stand alone rather than merge with another school district because of the significant financial ramifications to local taxpayers. The directors filed a letter with the Department of Education requesting permission to file an alternative plan that would allow the district to remain in its current configuration rather than merge with another school district.

Eastman told directors then that despite months of working numbers and reviewing at least seven different scenarios, including merging with SAD 39, the results were always the same: SAD 17 would experience severe financial penalties in trying to consolidate with the smaller units that operate over state set essential programs and services funding levels.

Eastman said he expects the meeting, which is being billed by Gendron’s office as a hands-on workshop, will be more of a discussion between local and state officials rather than one-sided dialect by the commissioner.

At least one school board member took a more frustrated view of tonight’s meeting.

“What’s this tea party for tomorrow night?” asked Oxford Board member John Palmer.