A group of South Dakota superintendents is working together to keep a valuable resource in their schools.  As we told you Tuesday, funding for Education Service Agencies, or ESA's, was drastically cut from the state budget.  Next year, those staff development and teacher training services will essentially disappear.

But now, some administrators are putting their heads together and have come up with a solution.

Any teacher will tell you, learning doesn't end just because you're the one in the front of the classroom. At Lennox, teachers get the opportunity to brush up on their skills several times a year, through ESA training.

Since hearing about the funding troubles, Lennox Superintendent Pat Jones and his colleagues in ESA district two have been trying to save those services.

"It's a very exciting way we're all working together to keep something in place we know is in the best interest of our teachers and helps kids," Jones said.

The administrators decided to use stimulus funds to keep the program running. They contacted the state to make sure that was an option and discussed options with the ESA.

"What we believe is a workable plan to have five staff members work a 190 day contract, rather than 205, and divide that cost among the 25 schools that receive ESA services," Jones said.

In Lennox's case, the contribution is $13,000 to keep ESA's alive in their schools. Jones says it's a small price to pay for such a valued service.

"For what they provide for us, that's a minimal investment for what we benefit. If you hire people to do staff development, one or two people with salaries and everything, you've burned $13,000 very quickly," said Jones.

Jones is proud of the group's teamwork and is thrilled that ESA's can thrive in his district at least one more year.

"We thought it better to invest in it now, keep it in place even though it's being trimmed down, than to just lose the whole thing," Jones said.

Most of the 25 districts will use Title 1 stimulus money to fund the program. The four that aren't receiving new Title 1 money will use some IDEA or special education funds, and Jones says doing so won't take away from any special ed programs.