Oxford “at a crossroads,” superintendent says
OXFORD – Oxford Superintendent Randy Squier presented his administration’s budget proposal to the district’s board of education Monday night, at the school system’s first budget meeting of the year.
His plan, which endeavors to close the gap between state aid reductions and rising costs, reflected a decrease in spending from the current year of 1.19 percent and would increase the local tax levy approximately 2.5 percent. To achieve that, however, the district will have to both tap into its fund balance and make more than $600,000 in program and staffing cuts.
“It includes cuts and reductions in programs and services throughout our schools,” Squier said, as he discussed the steps he had taken to address the more than $1 million gap between revenues and expenditures which would have existed if the district had rolled over last year’s budget.
According to the superintendent, maintaining the same level of service would require a $401,449 increase in spending, the equivalent of a more than 23 percent hike in the local tax levy.
Squier attributed the gap to both a loss of aid revenue and an increase in expenses over which the district has no control. On the revenue side, Oxford is facing a $428,445 reduction in state aid, the equivalent of 2.5 percent of the district’s total budget. In addition, he explained, the district must also absorb an additional $654,000 in employee benefit related expenditures. This includes an 11 percent increase in health insurance premiums, 21 percent increases in both worker’s compensation and retirement contributions, and a 333 percent increase in unemployment insurance as a result of positions slated for elimination.
There are also contractual obligations, such as approximately $48,000 in salaries for support staff. Estimated salary increases for teachers are also included in the budget, he said, explaining that the district and the Oxford Teachers Association are currently in negotiations. The teachers union’s current contract is set to expire at the end of June.
Helping balance the equation slightly is an additional $84,000 in revenue Oxford will receive back in BOCES aid for outsourcing business office functions to the DCMO BOCES Central Business Office (CBO). And the district will realize a savings of approximately $240,000 in their expenditures to BOCES due to both a decline in the number of students who attended CTE classes at the Chenango Campus this year and the number of students requiring special education services. The district also expects to shave some $51,300 from its utilities costs.
Squier has proposed allocating $300,000 to partially offset the gap, as well as the tax levy increase, which would generate an additional $109,565 in revenue for the district.
According to the superintendent, $607,129 in cuts to the expenditure side of the budget will also be necessary. $121,329 of that will come from program reductions which will affect field trips, summer school, extra curricular activities, athletics, BOCES services, professional development, materials and supplies, transportation and summer hours for school counselors and psychologist.
Despite their best efforts to keep the cuts away from kids, he explained, there is no doubt that students will be affected.
“All of these reductions, they hurt,” Squier said. “(But) something’s got to give.”
The superintendent has also proposed eliminating three programs outright: the summer primary and middle school reading and math program, drivers education and Diploma Bound, a program which helps ease the middle school/high school transitions for at-risk students. The move will save the district a total of $34,000, but it is with reluctance that the recommendation is being made, according to Squier.
“These are things we don’t want to see go,” he said, because they have a positive impact on kids.
Squier’s budget proposal also includes personnel cuts totaling $501,300.
Under the plan, the positions of two administrators – Primary School Principal Tim McDonald and Coordinator of Student Learning Janet Laytham – would be abolished.
According to the superintendent, the administrative cuts would save the district roughly $190,000, but will require other administrators to take on additional responsibilities. Squier himself would become the administrator at the primary school. To ensure adequate administrative coverage at the school when his duties take him elsewhere, the district’s director of special programs, Dawn Hover, will be relocated “across the river.” In addition, he said, an administrative intern with primary experience would be sought.
Laytham will remain with the district as interim high school principal in the wake of Christine Pierce’s departure. Pierce tendered her resignation earlier this month.
In addition to the administrative cuts, Squier has also proposed the elimination of 5.5 teaching positions. The reductions will affect one full-time teacher on the 7-12 grade level in each of the following content areas: Special education, science teacher, English, math teacher. A half-time health position currently shared with the Afton school district will also be abolished. In addition, the social studies position from which long-time Oxford educator Roger Carey is retiring will not be filled.
The cuts will cause stress in other areas, including scheduling where there will be less flexibility, according to the superintendent. It may also mean that faculty members will end up teaching classes they’ve never taught before, and/or instructing outside of their certification’s content areas.
“That’s the stark reality when we start cutting teachers,” Squier reported.
At the same time as the superintendent is recommending the elimination of these positions, he is also suggesting the district create a total of four additional positions. They include a part-time aide to assist with non-academic student supervision at the Middle School at an estimated cost of $5,600 and two summer help positions to assist with moving personnel between buildings, at a cost of approximately $4,900.
A fourth, which Squier said is required to fill an anticipated special education need for a one-on-one aide, could be filled in one of two ways. The district could either hire a full time LTA to perform this role, he explained, or it could use an existing staff member to fill the need and bring on a part-time library media specialist for the primary school, which it would share with a neighboring district. The difference in cost to the district, would be negligible, he said - $39,000 for the LTA, or $41,000 for the shared library position.
“Again, this is a proposal at this point,” Squier said, when asked by School Board Member Peter Heggie whether the additional positions were absolutely necessary.
As the proposal stands, Squier said, the budget is below the contingency level, which is what the district would face if the proposed budget fails to pass voter’s approval twice. According to Business Manager Harold Covey, this would not mean the district would have more to spend if they went into contingency. Rather they would still be bound by the budget total, but there would be greater restrictions on how that money could be spent.
“We are at the crossroads,” the superintendent said, explaining that the district needs to “balance what we know in our hearts is right for our kids and our community” with what the community can afford.
But does the plan cut too deep? Many faculty and community members in attendance, who waited to three hours to voice their concerns during public comment, were of that opinion. Several spoke in favor or restoring positions in the core content areas of math, English and social studies. They were also adamant that the summer reading and math program, drivers education and Diploma Bound programs remain in the budget.
“You need to give the people in the community the opportunity to tell you ... what kind of programs they want for their kids,” said High School Special Education Teacher Kathy Hodge, who suggested the board look at a higher tax levy increase to keep some of the programs and positions they were considering cutting.
Echoing the concerns of the faculty and community members present, the district’s board of education asked the superintendent to investigate how these items could be restored, and how those costs could be offset.
The board also asked Squier to come back with a proposal with a targeted tax levy increase of 4 or 4.5 percent.
Oxford’s next budget meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, April 5 in the Primary School Multipurpose Room. Documents pertaining to the budget process, including videos of school board meetings, can be accessed by clicking on the “2010-2011 Budget Planning” link on the district’s website, www.oxac.org.
His plan, which endeavors to close the gap between state aid reductions and rising costs, reflected a decrease in spending from the current year of 1.19 percent and would increase the local tax levy approximately 2.5 percent. To achieve that, however, the district will have to both tap into its fund balance and make more than $600,000 in program and staffing cuts.
“It includes cuts and reductions in programs and services throughout our schools,” Squier said, as he discussed the steps he had taken to address the more than $1 million gap between revenues and expenditures which would have existed if the district had rolled over last year’s budget.
According to the superintendent, maintaining the same level of service would require a $401,449 increase in spending, the equivalent of a more than 23 percent hike in the local tax levy.
Squier attributed the gap to both a loss of aid revenue and an increase in expenses over which the district has no control. On the revenue side, Oxford is facing a $428,445 reduction in state aid, the equivalent of 2.5 percent of the district’s total budget. In addition, he explained, the district must also absorb an additional $654,000 in employee benefit related expenditures. This includes an 11 percent increase in health insurance premiums, 21 percent increases in both worker’s compensation and retirement contributions, and a 333 percent increase in unemployment insurance as a result of positions slated for elimination.
There are also contractual obligations, such as approximately $48,000 in salaries for support staff. Estimated salary increases for teachers are also included in the budget, he said, explaining that the district and the Oxford Teachers Association are currently in negotiations. The teachers union’s current contract is set to expire at the end of June.
Helping balance the equation slightly is an additional $84,000 in revenue Oxford will receive back in BOCES aid for outsourcing business office functions to the DCMO BOCES Central Business Office (CBO). And the district will realize a savings of approximately $240,000 in their expenditures to BOCES due to both a decline in the number of students who attended CTE classes at the Chenango Campus this year and the number of students requiring special education services. The district also expects to shave some $51,300 from its utilities costs.
Squier has proposed allocating $300,000 to partially offset the gap, as well as the tax levy increase, which would generate an additional $109,565 in revenue for the district.
According to the superintendent, $607,129 in cuts to the expenditure side of the budget will also be necessary. $121,329 of that will come from program reductions which will affect field trips, summer school, extra curricular activities, athletics, BOCES services, professional development, materials and supplies, transportation and summer hours for school counselors and psychologist.
Despite their best efforts to keep the cuts away from kids, he explained, there is no doubt that students will be affected.
“All of these reductions, they hurt,” Squier said. “(But) something’s got to give.”
The superintendent has also proposed eliminating three programs outright: the summer primary and middle school reading and math program, drivers education and Diploma Bound, a program which helps ease the middle school/high school transitions for at-risk students. The move will save the district a total of $34,000, but it is with reluctance that the recommendation is being made, according to Squier.
“These are things we don’t want to see go,” he said, because they have a positive impact on kids.
Squier’s budget proposal also includes personnel cuts totaling $501,300.
Under the plan, the positions of two administrators – Primary School Principal Tim McDonald and Coordinator of Student Learning Janet Laytham – would be abolished.
According to the superintendent, the administrative cuts would save the district roughly $190,000, but will require other administrators to take on additional responsibilities. Squier himself would become the administrator at the primary school. To ensure adequate administrative coverage at the school when his duties take him elsewhere, the district’s director of special programs, Dawn Hover, will be relocated “across the river.” In addition, he said, an administrative intern with primary experience would be sought.
Laytham will remain with the district as interim high school principal in the wake of Christine Pierce’s departure. Pierce tendered her resignation earlier this month.
In addition to the administrative cuts, Squier has also proposed the elimination of 5.5 teaching positions. The reductions will affect one full-time teacher on the 7-12 grade level in each of the following content areas: Special education, science teacher, English, math teacher. A half-time health position currently shared with the Afton school district will also be abolished. In addition, the social studies position from which long-time Oxford educator Roger Carey is retiring will not be filled.
The cuts will cause stress in other areas, including scheduling where there will be less flexibility, according to the superintendent. It may also mean that faculty members will end up teaching classes they’ve never taught before, and/or instructing outside of their certification’s content areas.
“That’s the stark reality when we start cutting teachers,” Squier reported.
At the same time as the superintendent is recommending the elimination of these positions, he is also suggesting the district create a total of four additional positions. They include a part-time aide to assist with non-academic student supervision at the Middle School at an estimated cost of $5,600 and two summer help positions to assist with moving personnel between buildings, at a cost of approximately $4,900.
A fourth, which Squier said is required to fill an anticipated special education need for a one-on-one aide, could be filled in one of two ways. The district could either hire a full time LTA to perform this role, he explained, or it could use an existing staff member to fill the need and bring on a part-time library media specialist for the primary school, which it would share with a neighboring district. The difference in cost to the district, would be negligible, he said - $39,000 for the LTA, or $41,000 for the shared library position.
“Again, this is a proposal at this point,” Squier said, when asked by School Board Member Peter Heggie whether the additional positions were absolutely necessary.
As the proposal stands, Squier said, the budget is below the contingency level, which is what the district would face if the proposed budget fails to pass voter’s approval twice. According to Business Manager Harold Covey, this would not mean the district would have more to spend if they went into contingency. Rather they would still be bound by the budget total, but there would be greater restrictions on how that money could be spent.
“We are at the crossroads,” the superintendent said, explaining that the district needs to “balance what we know in our hearts is right for our kids and our community” with what the community can afford.
But does the plan cut too deep? Many faculty and community members in attendance, who waited to three hours to voice their concerns during public comment, were of that opinion. Several spoke in favor or restoring positions in the core content areas of math, English and social studies. They were also adamant that the summer reading and math program, drivers education and Diploma Bound programs remain in the budget.
“You need to give the people in the community the opportunity to tell you ... what kind of programs they want for their kids,” said High School Special Education Teacher Kathy Hodge, who suggested the board look at a higher tax levy increase to keep some of the programs and positions they were considering cutting.
Echoing the concerns of the faculty and community members present, the district’s board of education asked the superintendent to investigate how these items could be restored, and how those costs could be offset.
The board also asked Squier to come back with a proposal with a targeted tax levy increase of 4 or 4.5 percent.
Oxford’s next budget meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, April 5 in the Primary School Multipurpose Room. Documents pertaining to the budget process, including videos of school board meetings, can be accessed by clicking on the “2010-2011 Budget Planning” link on the district’s website, www.oxac.org.
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