Groton — Don Meltabarger joked to the Groton Board of Education that he comes with a guarantee he'll pay for himself.

He was kidding, but he already has. Meltabarger, who starts Tuesday as the new business manager for Groton Public Schools and will receive a $125,000 annual salary, has saved the district $470,000 for the coming fiscal year.

The former business and facilities director for East Lyme Public Schools did it by watching heating oil and diesel fuel prices, then locking in at a low and saving more than $1 per gallon on diesel alone.

Groton has an education budget of about $75 million, enough to give it leverage when dealing with suppliers, Meltabarger said.

"We buy a lot of paperclips," he said.

Superintendent Michael Graner said, "He is very experienced, very knowledgeable about school business operations. But probably more than anything else, he has a real passion about trying to maximize the available resources for the benefit of kids."

Meltabarger said he's simply bringing what he learned over the years to a larger school district. East Lyme Public Schools has a budget of $42.7 million.

Prior to working a decade in East Lyme, Meltabarger served as business manager for Regional School District No. 11, which includes Chaplin, Hampton and Scotland. He is a certified public accountant, has a master of business administration and has also worked in the private sector.

He met with the Groton board in January after his hire and had a list of potential savings ideas then. His last day in East Lyme was Friday, but he's been investing his own time in Groton since December.

His ideas range from achieving large-scale savings to bringing in a couple of thousand dollars.

On the larger end, Groton could save by converting from heating oil to natural gas, Meltabarger said. East Lyme converted its high school, middle school and one of its elementary schools from to natural gas and saved $1 million over three years, Meltabarger said.

"The conversion paid for itself in a year or two. Not even," he said. Meltabarger has spoken to Yankee Gas about Groton schools and will learn where gas pipes are located.

Groton could also replace technology and transportation equipment by using lease-purchase agreements rather than buying items outright. East Lyme's program replaces 20 percent of computers per year, so none is more than five years old. By taking advantage of low-interest municipal loans and using lease-purchase, the district was able to buy $220,000 in equipment for about $48,000, he said.

"I feel like I have this huge canvas to work on, and I'm really kind of excited about Groton," Meltabarger said. "There (are) so many things we can do. And we've got buying power with a $75 million budget."

Groton could leverage that buying power and also work with credit card companies to get money back for its purchases, Meltabarger said.

He explained how the new approach would work: The school district would contact a credit card company like American Express or Bank of America and provide the names of vendors the district is using for items like office supplies. The credit card company would then ask vendors if they would provide the services or goods on credit.

The credit card company would ordinarily receive about 3 percent on the transaction from the vendor. In exchange for the business, under the arrangement Meltabarger described, the credit card company would turn over a portion to the school district.

Groton could also save or bring in money on a smaller scale. Several school districts in Connecticut, including East Lyme, recently agreed to allow advertising at athletic fields to help support athletics or extracurricular activities. The East Lyme football field complex has drawn in four or five advertisers who pay $1,000 to $1,500 per ad, depending on where the advertisement is placed, Meltabarger said.

Groton might also replace older carpet with a nylon-covered tile, as has been installed elsewhere, like at Oswegatchie Elementary School in Waterford. The tile lasts longer than carpet, doesn't hold the moisture during cleaning, and cuts down on labor costs, he said.

In addition, Meltabarger suggested converting to LED lights that last 50,000 to 100,000 hours; installing hand dryers instead of buying paper towels; and using school bus vans to transport special education students, rather than paying more costly vendors.

"I've just been around awhile," he said, when asked about his ideas. "I rely a lot on the people I work with. They educate me. So I'm just bringing my knowledge to Groton."

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim