FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue Regional School District board approved a spending plan Tuesday that does not include privatizing custodial and transportation services. The decision comes after weeks of budget talks and impassioned pleas from the public to save programs and jobs.

The $25.38 million budget, which is 15 percent higher than the current year, reflects $577,000 in cuts made by trimming programs, sports, supplies, personnel and a wage freeze by district employees over two years.

The vote to approve the budget was 13-1, with Director Scott Webber of New Vineyard opposed. Director Betsy Hyde of Temple was absent.

“This is a good, solid budget and should go to the taxpayers as it stands,” board Chairman Mark Prentiss of Industry said.

A bright spot in the budget discussion was the unexpected savings of $75,000 found in the health insurance line item.

The board opted to set aside $26,000 of the savings in the contingency fund to pay for a part-time, special education teacher at Mallett School that was to be cut, and $20,000 to restore to full-time special-education technician position, if the jobs are needed.

The remainder of the savings will be used to reduce the tax burden.

The contingency fund is currently at $90,000, an amount that Wilton Director Robert Pullo warned was “anemic” and has been cut every year as the budget goes up.

The fund is supposed to be available to cover unexpected expenses, such as hiring another teacher or ed tech if enrollments are too high, or to pay for an unanticipated expense.

Enrollment of children with special needs at Mallett School has been burgeoning and another dozen students are expected to be referred to the special ed program this fall.

Ed Ferreira, the director of special services for the district, said he is concerned that with the proposed budget cuts that the district was running the risk of not adequately addressing the needs of special education students.

“We have young kids with a lot of needs and who require a lot of interventions. We have to keep (teacher) caseloads at a reasonable level because it keeps costs down in the long run,” he said.

Another unpopular cut that may be averted is the proposed loss of one of three math “interventionists” at the elementary schools.

These math professionals said they work with dozens of struggling students and are effectively raising their math skills. They also work with teachers to advise them on better ways to teach math in class. The program was funded for two years with federal stimulus money, which has now dried up.

Funding for the position will be included in the federal Title 1 grant being submitted in July to the U.S. Department of Education, according to the Director of Curriculum Leanne Condon.

Title 1 funds are awarded to school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families.

The board took no action on bids for contracting out custodial services, a proposal that could save the district about $210,000 a year with the low bidder, Benchmark Cleaning & Supply, of Portland. The district currently pays about $975,000 a year on salaries, benefits and travel.

A private company coming in would be required to interview current employees for the jobs but the positions would be part time, director of support services David Leavitt said.

More than two dozen full-time jobs would be lost since most custodians also work as bus drivers to bring their hours up to full time and earn benefits.

At 6 p.m. on April 26, the board will hold a public comment session on the custodial bids in the Mt. Blue Middle School cafeteria. Last week, directors reviewed transportation service bids and heard comments from employees and parents that decried the proposal.

Directors have said they don’t support privatizing services but need to keep the options on the table.

“We cannot tie our hands by voting ‘no’ on those contracts. … We can address them if the budget is not passed by the taxpayers,” Prentiss said.

“It would speak worlds to say that this is the budget we want and that it does not include contracting out services,” Director Clair Andrews, who chairs the Budget Committee, said.

In a discussion on the $3,000 cut to the school board’s budget for travel to board meetings and conferences, directors agreed to retain it during these tough budget times.

Board members are paid $10 per meeting and have been reimbursed for mileage to meetings. They also attend other district events but pay for the gas out of pocket.

“It is a statement that we are part of the solution,” Pullo said.

Andrews said every idea proposed by employees and the community at budget brainstorming sessions has been explored and the board on Tuesday went through the three pages of suggestions.

One was to close the Cushing Elementary School and move the youngest elementary school students in Wilton across the street to Academy Hill School. Andrews said the savings found would be minimal and Academy Hill would have to be extensively modified to accommodate prekindergarten and kindergarten classes.

“We felt the impact on the community was not worth it,” she said.

Under the 2011-12 budget, the district’s operating costs are expected to increase by less than 1 percent, or $184,000, over the current year. However, when the $3.2 million in debt service for two new schools is included — even though 95 percent is funded by a state bond already approved — the budget jumps 15 percent to $25.38 million.

A budget information session will be held May 10 with the district budget meeting and vote to be set for later in May. The referendum validation vote in each town will be June 1.

If the budget is approved by voters, it would result in a $521,000 increase in local school taxes divided among Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.