SALEM TOWNSHIP — The SAD 58 board will consider closing one of its four elementary schools to save money in the 2012-13 fiscal year.

The Jan. 31 agenda for the meeting at Mt. Abram High School asks the directors to “consider any action the board wishes to take in regards to including Stratton Elementary School in the 2012-2013 budget.”

Superintendent Brenda Stevens has warned that the district will face difficult choices, including staff and program cuts and possibly school closures.

The board can choose among the several options, Stevens said, but they need to face “the elephant in the room.”

“Nobody is going to argue the fact that we have to make some significant cuts,” she said after a recent meeting with directors.

With the school population decreasing, only one of four elementary schools and Mt. Abram High School are close to capacity. Strong Elementary School can not take more students, Stevens said, but both Kingfield and Stratton elementary schools have very few students. Stevens said the board will have to look at the financial facts and not expect taxpayers to approve budgets that continue to rise as the number of students continues to decline.

“Buildings have to be heated, and driveways have to be plowed,” she said. “Plant maintenance costs are huge.”

Stevens suggested that Stratton students could be bused to Kingfield Elementary School. Closing the Stratton school would save the district $500,000 without overcrowding the Kingfield facility.

Stevens said she can not predict how much money will come from the Maine Department of Education to fund mandated essential programs and services.

She anticipates significant cuts, based on Gov. Paul LePage’s suggestion that closing schools statewide will save money.

If the board chooses not to close the Stratton school at its next meeting, directors will have to approve other ways to cut costs. During budget talks last year, another proposal was to close Mt. Abram High School and move students to the Kingfield Elementary School. Kingfield students would be bused to Strong, Phillips, or Stratton. No choice will be easy or pleasant, Stevens said.

“There are people who say if you lose a school, you lose a community,” she said. “Then, there’s the flip side from those people who say they can’t afford to live in their communities.”

If the Stratton school closes, some teachers will go to other schools, with the possibility of teaching different grades and different subjects.

Teachers with seniority can “bump” those with fewer years of experience, she said. That means that two or three first-year district teachers could be displaced. The average cost for a teacher in the district is about $58,000 a year with the fringe benefits package, Stevens said. By the end of the budget process, many factors may change, especially if some teachers decide to retire or take other jobs.

“This is a very emotional subject,” Stevens said. “No one wants to see their school closed.”