OXFORD – Oxford Business Manager Harold Covey’s last official day on the job was Tuesday, but on Wednesday he was right back at his familiar desk in the school’s district office.
In July, Covey announced his intention to retire, a decision he says was prompted by the early retirement incentive offered by New York State. He will remain on, however, in an interim basis until his position is filled. According to the timeline established by Superintendent Randy Squier, that could be until the first of the year. Covey will be compensated $422.81 per day for the work he does for the district during that time, based on the per diem rate approved on Monday by Oxford’s board of education.
In comparison, the Norwich City School district compensated their Interim Business Manager, Jim Collison, $425 per day in the period between Margaret Boice’s departure and the appointment of Robert Wightman.
According to Squier, paying the daily rate to keep Covey, with his expertise and knowledge of the district, made financial sense for the district, rather than rushing to fill the position or look outside for an interim person.
Covey already had 21 years of experience as a school business official when he came to Oxford in 2003.
“I have an interesting path,” he said. Armed with a degree in accounting from Clarkson University in Potsdam, Covey worked for a brief time in public accountancy before beginning his career in education. His first position as a school business administrator was with the Heuvelton School District, in St. Lawrence County. He remained with the district from 1982 until approximately 1990, when the school entered into a cooperative agreement with two other districts through the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES. Covey served as one of the business officials shared by the program, which eventually grew to include eight districts.
“We were one of the first in the state to do a CBO (Central Business Office concept,” he said.
After more than a decade working in the cooperative environment, however, Covey said he longed to return to a single district. So in 2003, he and his family relocated to his wife Cindy’s hometown of Oxford, where he became the school’s business manager.
Covey described his role at Oxford as “behind the scenes,” and said he has taken pride in helping the district’s staff and administration do their job of educating students “with the most efficient use of resources.”
Covey said he has mixed feelings about retiring, and is unsure what he will do at the conclusion of his interim appointment.
“It all came about so quickly, I haven’t had time to think about it,” he said, explaining that he had intended to work three more years before retiring.
According to Squier, the business official will leave big shoes for his successor – whoever that may be – to fill.
“His experience and knowledge of how to operate an effective school business office will be difficult to replace,” the superintendent explained. “He always found a way for us to be able to support kids. I could always trust that we did everything by the book. Our audits have proven that.”
On a more personal note, Squier said he would miss Covey’s “ability to see the big picture and his clear judge of character,” as well as his “sense of humor and demeanor.