OXFORD – SAD 17 officials are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to putting laptop computers into the hands of high-schoolers.

A plan being put forward by state Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron would phase in one-on-one computing in grades 9 through 12 beginning with freshman this coming school year.

The cost to SAD 17 would be $100,000 in the first year, with federal grants available to pay most, if not all, of those costs, Supt. Mark Eastman told the board of directors Monday.

But in the second year, when both 9th- and 10th-graders would get the laptops, Gendron proposes to tap an as-yet untried Essential Program and Services funding model. Eastman said that funding source is unsure.

The cost for SAD 17 in the second year under Gendron’s proposal would be $195,000, rising to $300,000 in year three and $400,000 in year four, when all high school students would have personal laptop computers.

He and a committee that met on the issue are recommending that for now, the district focus on upgrading the computer labs at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, instead of buying into the expanded laptop program.

Under the middle school laptop program initiated by former Gov. Angus King, all 7th- and 8th-grade students are issued laptop computers at the beginning of the school year. The district used federal dollars to buy 650 laptops last year for 7th- and 8th-graders at Oxford Hills Middle School at $1,000 apiece.

This year, all 8th-grade students will take their Maine Educational Assessment tests on their laptops, Eastman said.

The problem comes, said Eastman, when a student with no computer at home enters high school. They must give up their laptop at the end of 8th grade.

“We philosophically support one-on-one computing, but we feel we do not have the funding to expand the laptop initiative to grade 9 in this budget,” he said. The plan instead is to upgrade services in two existing computer labs, and add a new computer lab.

Currently, the high school has about one computer for every three students, although some of the units are becoming dated. There are desktop computers in every classroom, nine specialized labs and one open lab.

He said MEA test results being released later this month aren’t likely to show much hard evidence yet as to whether the laptops are improving students’ learning. “It will take a year or two to assess the data,” he said.

Eastman said there’s no question that without the state support for the laptop program, the district would not have been able to provide students with one-on-one computing.

Referring to the middle school initiative, he said, “This tremendous infusion of technology was extraordinary, and we could never have done this on our own.”