JAY – Three principals have been charged with identifying $20,000 each in reductions in discretionary accounts at their schools to offset nearly $200,000 expected to be lost in state subsidies.

The savings will be added to $138,580 in additional reductions, Superintendent Robert Wall told School Committee members Thursday.

Those reductions are: $23,000 saved from getting a good price on fuel oil; $40,500 by not filling the curriculum coordinator position; $15,000 from the technology account, and $10,000 from the food service allocation, Wall said.

Jay is a low receiver of state aid at $1.9 million because of its high valuation, but with the loss of the projected $197,400 in state subsidy and with a higher state valuation for 2008, it is expected the department will get significantly less subsidy next year, Wall said.

Voters approved spending the full $10.2 million budget in June using $506,153 from a $1.3 million general fund, Wall said. More of the general fund could be applied, Wall said, but recommended no more than $50,000, if necessary, to be used as a buffer.

The School Department has $805,453 in the general fund but plans to apply $505,453 of that to the 2009-10 budget to lower taxes, he said.

That would reduce the fund to $300,000 and if the $50,000 is needed, it would leave $250,000, Wall said.

Other cuts will be made in athletics in the travel line in discretionary areas such as for scrimmages, but leaving the regular sports schedules in place.

The plan preserves personnel and programs for students, he said.

Maine Department of Education has been asked by the governor to cut $27 million from education subsidy due to more than a $100 million shortfall in revenue. Wall said that number is going to rise and could hit more than $500 million over the next two years.

The state Legislature will have to act on the budget curtailment, Wall said. If it doesn’t the governor could push the June subsidy into the next fiscal year in July. That would mean Jay would lose $109,000, he said.

“We feel this a temporary fix,” Wall said of the local cuts. The amount needed to be reduced for education may be raised by the state.

“I guess we’re not going to breathe easy until June 30,” Wall said. “If we have line overages, unbudgeted expenses, high substitute costs We will need to cut more and cutting personnel is all that is left.”

That would be the last resort, he said.

School Committee member Judy Diaz asked about closing the elementary school and moving students to the middle school.

Wall said that would also be a last resort.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Diaz said.

School administrators are making plans for next year’s budget and one is to go to a single bus run to bring all students to school at the same time to save costs. That would allow for restructuring of staff and using staff in a more efficient way.

Chairman Mary Redmond-Luce said she appreciated the administration’s effort to limit the impact on students.