EASTPORT – Terry Lux is the new kid on the block.

She was hired as school superintendent just three months ago.

Now she faces a daunting decision – make deep cuts in this year’s school budget or pass the cost along to property taxpayers.

Eastport, a community of about 1,600 people, recently learned it will lose more than $340,000 in state subsidies. The elementary and high schools have a combined total of 230 students, with 40 full- and part-time staff members.

Voters last year approved a $3.2 million school budget; this year’s bottom line is anybody’s guess until all of the numbers are crunched.

That is what Lux and her principals are doing right now, not only for Eastport but also for the four other towns in Union 104, including Charlotte, Dennysville, Pembroke and Perry.

Although Lux is worried about the cuts she will have to make, she is more concerned about the impact those cuts will have on students. “The part that bothers me the most – you don’t hear a lot about what this is going to do to students,” she said about the state.

But one thing is clear for Eastport and other communities in the same sinking state financial boat: Some students will have to do more with less, but not all. Lux pointed out that Bangor received $1 million more in state subsidies.

Although the superintendent’s title is new to Lux, education is not. Lux has been an educator for nearly 30 years. She started as a science teacher and ended up a principal. After 25 years with the Florida school system, she retired and moved to Maine, where she was hired as principal of Shead High School in Eastport.

For three years, she was happy in her role as principal, then last year Union 104 lost its superintendent, and retired Superintendent Omar Norton was hired as interim. Norton, who tapped Lux for the job, said that in this time of school consolidation, the union needs a local advocate who cares. Lux underwent an intense six-month on-the-job training period before taking the helm.

Lux said Norton remains her mentor. “I finally have that sage, that mentor that I probably should have had a long time ago,” she said of her career.

On Tuesday, Lux talked about how the cuts in state subsidy would affect the various towns. She said Dennysville and Perry did all right, but Perry faces challenges in other areas. “Perry’s costs were up in four areas and they are in a situation where you can’t reduce them – such as tuition to secondary schools. … That was around a $70,000 increase just for that,” she said. The town also faces increases in special education costs.

The town of Charlotte also escaped a huge cut, but Pembroke was slammed. The tiny town is losing approximately $91,000 in state subsidy. Pembroke’s elementary school has 112 pupils and 17 full- and part-time staff members.

Now that the initial shock is over, it is time for Lux and the Union 104 school principals to find the cuts. She has asked the principals to prepare various scenarios, and next week they will meet to discuss their recommendations.

One cut Lux is aware of is at the Eastport Elementary School, where a teacher recently resigned. “I am not going to refill the position, which will probably require doubling up,” she said. The elementary school already has teachers doing double duty with combined classes in the second and third grades, and sixth and seventh grades.

Lux predicts the financial squeeze will continue because increases in fuel costs will hurt down the road. “There are costs for doing business in rural Maine that are more than in some other places,” she said.

After her meeting with the principals, the next step is to present the various budgets to the respective school boards in each of the towns. Then the matter goes before voters. A new state law requires that Lux have the budgets ready to present to voters in June. Five days later, voters will go to the polls.

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