OXFORD – The SAD 17 preliminary 2008-2009 school budget calls for eliminating 12 teaching positions, nine through retirement and three by resignation, Superintendent Mark Eastman told directors Monday night.

“This has been a long and challenging process,” Eastman said of developing the budget when the amount of state aid to local schools was not known until last week.

This year’s budget is $35.4 million, and initial projections were for a $1.8 million increase, which would bring the total to $37.2 million.

In total, the fiscal 2009 budget reduces $1,040,000 and looks to cut six elementary teaching positions, three middle school and three high school teaching positions.

Additionally 1.5 elementary educational technicians, one lead mechanic, one central office support position and a funding cut in the athletic department will take place.

Other reductions include the elimination of elementary summer school and districtwide field trips. Also in the budget is a reduction in funding for adult education, district staff development, a cut in stipends, and high school security upgrades.

The budget also calls for a delay in purchasing two school buses and maintenance projects and no funding for expansion of elementary foreign language. The expansion of the pre-kindergarten program at the Paris Elementary School, which had been on the cutting board, is expected to remain in place at this point because it is considered a funding advantage.

The Legislature enacted the $6.3 billion state budget last week. The $130 million in state spending cuts includes a $34.1 million reduction in state aid to local schools. Eastman said SAD 17 actually received $700,000 more in state aid than last year.

“If we hadn’t gotten that we would have been in a really, really tough situation,” he said.

The state subsidy amounts for each school district is based on the Essential Programs and Services model and mill expectation formula. The Essential Programs and Services funding, which is what the state gives a school district based on a formula to meet the state’s learning results, was set at 97 percent and not the promised 100 percent this year.

School officials have stressed the 97 percent funding level is applied to a lower amount since subsidies for transportation, special education and facilities have been reduced by 5 percent and a subsidy for district administration reduced by 50 percent. The financial impact for SAD 17 for the subsidy cuts was nearly $1.2 million, Eastman said.

Although SAD 17 is one of a minority of school districts to be spending under the Essential Programs and Services spending target – it is $550,000 below that mark – other factors such as a whopping 50 percent increase in electricity and diesel fuel compounded the difficulty in budgeting this year.

“It was the perfect storm of negative conditions,” Eastman said of the budget factors such as soaring fuel costs, property values exceeding state averages in five of the eight school district towns, and other factors.

Eastman is taking the budget to residents in a series of budget hearings starting with Oxford and Otisfield residents on Tuesday, April 8, and Norway and Paris residents on April 9. The budget hearings will start at 7 p.m. in each of the town’s elementary schools.