OXFORD – Conflicting opinions about moving teachers between buildings sparked heated debate among board, faculty and community members at an Oxford school board meeting last night which dragged on for nearly five hours.
Shortly after the meeting’s 7 p.m. start, long-time eighth grade social studies teacher and Oxford Teacher’s Association President Jon Rogers addressed the board with his concerns. Just moments after students had left the building on the final day of school, he said, he had been informed that his teaching assignment would change for next year.
“I’ll be shared between the two buildings,” he explained, referring to the Middle and High Schools. According to Rogers, the new arrangement, which he said he believes is “retribution” for speaking out, will not be by choice.
“I love to teach eighth grade,” he said, explaining that while he is certified to teach the sophomore-level Global Studies classes he has been assigned, he has never taught it before. When he has questioned the decision, Rogers said, he has been given “glib and nebulous” answers, which did nothing to clarify or explain why the move was “best for students.”
“You’re not even considering continuity,” he said.
The move will affect not only Rogers, but seventh grade social studies teacher Michelle Barrows as well. Barrows said she has been told by administrators that she may need to pick up one section of eighth grade because of block scheduling at the high school. She also expressed concerns about students who would no longer be able to seek extra help from Rogers after school without going to the high school.
“I really ask that you reconsider,” pleaded Barrows, who said she was “flabbergasted” when she learned of the plan.
The district’s justification for the move was revealed later in the meeting, when the board accepted the resignation of high school social studies teacher Michael Chrystie. Chrystie, who had been told in February that his position might be one of those reduced to part-time in the superintendent’s “worst case scenario” budget, elected to leave the district despite the fact that his position had been kept in the final budget approved by voters in May.
“The recommendation I would have is to not fill the position, but to instead enter into a contract with BOCES for a half-time health position,” Superintendent Randall Squier said during his staffing update to the board. The half-time position, he explained, would be shared with the Afton Central School District and would be “aidable” through the state. Jessica Wheeler, the full-time health teacher whose position was abolished in next year’s budget, will fill the shared position.
According to Squier, he consulted the administrators in both buildings before making the recommendation, but neither High School Principal Christine Pierce nor Middle School Principal Kathleen Hansen expressly stated their support of the plan.
“At the High School, all the core social studies classes ... will be taught by social studies certified teachers,” Squier said. The exception will be the AIS (Academic Intervention Services) social studies section, which, according to Pierce, will now have to be covered by a teacher without that certification.
“Was it an easy choice? No, it was not,” reported Hansen, of the decision she had to make about which of the teachers would be shared between the buildings. She understands the financial constraints on the district, the middle school principal said, but if there are any problems covering study halls or other sections, she will be in the superintendent’s office asking for more help.
When Dawn Golden, who was sworn in to her position on the board last night, asked Rogers what his solution to the issue would be, he replied that the district’s taxpayers had voted to retain the full-time position in the last budget and it should be filled.
DeBrita said that voters had only approved the total dollar amount of the budget, rather than individual items in that budget, and that actual allocation of the spending plan was left to the board and superintendent. This statement sparked more comments from those in the audience, including district resident Bob Rogers, who argued that he had indeed taken those line items into account when casting his vote.
“That’s the budget that I approved; not the bottom line, but how you were allocating it,” Rogers said.
Former High School Principal James Podraza also questioned why the board and administration had restored the position in question back into the budget only to decide now that it was no longer needed.
“You felt before that this position was needed. How has that changed?” he asked.
Golden and the other new board member, Pete Heggie, had questions as well regarding why the district’s top administrator and not the board had the final say in the matter. DeBrita replied that she believed the decision was “within the authority” of the superintendent, because “the same classes are being offered.”
“I believe, by contract, that’s a right of management,” DeBrita said.
Despite the lengthy discussion, Rogers is still not satisfied with the answers he has received regarding the reasoning behind his new assignment for next year.
“If they truly believe having different teachers for the same classes, and no continuity is good for children, then they have no understanding of education,” he said.