OXFORD – Oxford’s middle and high schools will have a plan in place by Friday to rectify concerns created by the splitting of a social studies teacher between the two buildings, according to the district’s top administrator.
“It’s just a matter of deciding what to do and doing it,” Superintendent Randy Squier told members of the Oxford board of education on Monday. “There are a lot of ways to solve it. We just need to do it and move on.”
The position in question is that of Jonathan Rogers, the eighth grade social studies teacher who has also been asked to teach a section of High School Global Studies this school year.
Since being informed of the change in June, Rogers has voiced his opposition to the plan on numerous occasions, citing concerns ranging from its adverse affects on students who need extra help to the strain it places on other faculty and staff members. Other issues he has raised include the lack of face time with his students; the limited access his homeroom students have to their lockers after he leaves for the high school; the diminished impact of the community service project he does with his eighth graders as a result of constraints on his time; and the difficulty in attending team and departmental meetings in both buildings.
After raising these concerns first with his building administrators and the superintendent, Rogers brought his complaints forward to the school board at the Oct. 19 meeting. At that time, Oxford School Board President Robin DeBrita tasked Squier with revisiting the shared position and reporting back to the board.
On Monday, the superintendent presented a summary of the district’s current staffing plan and different staffing scenarios concerning shared positions.
“It’s not a black and white plan,” said Squier, explaining how declining enrollment, budgetary constraints, state mandates and the timing of vacancies all influence the staffing of individual positions and require a degree of flexibility.
Squier stood behind the decisions made to eliminate or reduce certain positions while maintaining others during the past year, reporting his belief that these decisions had been fiscally and programmatically “sound.”
A total of seven teaching positions have been eliminated since last year, according to the superintendent. Four of those positions, in grades 3 through 6, were eliminated because of enrollment, he said. Another three positions, vacated by resignation and retirement, were not filled for either budgetary or enrollment reasons. Also because of enrollment, a full-time health position had been eliminated. That position is now shared with the Afton Central School District through a cooperative BOCES agreement.
Because of the timing of an opening, a high school science position had been maintained, he reported. In addition, two special education positions were added in the Middle School to bring the district into compliance with state requirements.
“There are a lot of domino effects with these positions,” Squier said. Rogers’ split position, which the superintendent said aligns with the district’s “long-term staffing goals,” is one of those dominos.
The social studies teacher is not the only educator divided between the two buildings. A Spanish teacher, and an AIS reading teacher, are also split between the two. Squier displayed the schedules of all three staff members.
Rogers and other faculty members present pointed out some of the areas of conflict in his schedule, particularly in regards to team planning and travel time.
“If I followed the schedule that was up there, I’d be walking in the class the same time the students do,” Rogers said.
According to the superintendent, the indecision surrounding the situation has dragged on long enough .“It certainly should be able to be handled by our existing staff,” he said, adding that allowing things to remain in limbo was “not fair” to Rogers.
“I can certainly stick my nose into it,” said Squier, but he said he would prefer instead to have those decisions made by at those closest to the situation, namely the principals and teachers directly involved. DeBrita also expressed her belief that Rogers and his fellow faculty members should be the ones who came up with a workable solution.
Reaching an agreement by Friday may be a tall order, though, since according to Rogers, he and the two principals he now reports to have not met to discuss his concerns since the prior board meeting.
“I am a teacher. Looking out for kids best interest is what I do,” said Rogers, following the meeting. He will continue to voice his concerns about the impact of the split position on his students, he added.
According to Squier, because of budgetary constraints and the continual decline of enrollment, it is likely that more positions will need to be shared between buildings in the future as the district seeks to maximize use of the faculty’s certifications to maintain programs.
“It’s not going away,” he explained, but will be a scenario that will be played out every year.
The only other options are “emotional issues” such as grade re-configuration and capital projects, the superintendent said.