Edgecomb school officials are watching expenditures closely with about 80 class days remaining in the year. In January, Edgecomb Eddy expenses totaled $209,756, which is 8.26 percent of the budget. Those figures are slightly lower than the previous January’s, according to information from the Edgecomb School Committee’s meeting Feb. 9.

The school’s three-year January spending average typically accounts for 10.02 percent of budget items.

The Edgecomb School District cash flow analysis shows expenditures are under budget and have 43 percent remaining. Alternative Organizational Structure 98 Superintendent Eileen King described the school budget’s condition as “good.” But she warned there has been only one snow day, and a flurry of bad weather could change everything.

“We’re going over the finances every other week,” King said. “Right now, we’re right where we should be. But it’s going to be a real nail-biter until the very end.”

The tight financial situation puts a strain on unplanned purchases. The school committee is currently evaluating the condition of the teachers’ laptops and deciding whether to purchase new ones. Principal Lisa Clarke described the teachers’ current laptops as being in poor condition.

“They are dying left and right,” she said. “The laptops are unworkable and can’t be upgraded. It’s difficult for teachers to do their curriculum work and observations without them.”

If the assessment shows new laptops are needed, the school committee may use funds from gifts and grants. The committee and other AOS 98 schools received a gift from the Boothbay Region Education Foundation, which received funds from the Harbor Children’s Center. Another possible funding source is a federal Rural Education Technology grant, but King doubted those funds would be enough to purchase the laptops.

In other action, the school committee is considering a pre-kindergarten program for the 2016-17 school year. King is seeking Regional School Unit 12’s Superintendent Howard Tuttle’s advice about establishing a pre-kindergarten program. King wants a meeting with Tuttle and one school committee member after February vacation to discuss the various aspects of beginning a program.

The committee heard two student presentations about the sixth grade’s class trip to Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset. Fourteen students spent two nights and three days exploring nature last September. Wesley Edgecomb gave a solo presentation and Angelica Rodriquez and Arden Carleton presented together.

The students described how they slept in tents, prepared their own food, studied three different kinds of owls, explored a gulch, and learned how to read various maps.

The committee ended the meeting in executive session to discuss a personnel issue. The committee took no action afterward.

The Edgecomb School Committee will meet next at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8 at the school.