VOTE NO to Oxford Getting a Mil Rate Increase!

If Southbury can increase the BOE budget and still their Board of Finance voted to set next year's mil rate at 20.9, a drop from this year's 21.1.  Why can't Oxford do the same?  VOTE NO ON THE BOE/TOWN Budget!

See the full Voices article by Clicking Here

Reasons the Budget Should be Reduced by August Palmer III

 Board Of Education Budget

 The BOE received $1.4million savings because of kids coming back to  the Oxford School System from out-of-town education systems.  We now have four full grades at the Oxford High School.

Stimulus Money - $240,000goes right to the Oxford School System, not the Town of Oxford.

Last year the BOE had a surplus of $740,000, so they still have this surplus in this years budget.  It has never been cut out.

This years BOE budget increased by better then $300,000. BOARD of EDUCATION BUDGET SHOULD HAVE BEEN DECREASED!

 Town Budget

 New Revenues:

• 1.8 million from General Electric 
• 300,000 from CL&P for 300Kv transfer station 
• 500,000 from Spectra Energy for gas compression

 There is a 2.6 million in new revenue

The big questions is So why are the taxes going up?

For Your Information All this money came in from the previous administration.

BOF Request/Questions for the 09/10 BOE Budget

Click here to view the spread sheet for the BOF Request - Questions for the 09/10 BOE Budget

Spreadsheet developed using the information provided by Dr. Palmer to gain a better understanding of class sizes, courses offered, staff utilization, teacher's educational steps & salaries (used 2009-2010 salaries)

Click here to view the spread sheet

Questions:

1. Salary levels seem high. Were HS teachers hired at generally higher salary levels than for K-8?
2. Why are all except one Dept. Heads teaching only 4 classes?
3. Do the Dept. Heads get extra dollars for their position?
4. Do the Dept. Heads have there own contract or do they fall under the teacher's contracts?
5. Why are there so many class sizes under 20 students? I see more than 60% of classes below 20!
6. What courses are required by the state? How many years needed? How many credits?
7. How many credits do students need per year? To graduate?
8. SPED teacher count looks like 4. Are classes offered under them state required?
9. Are the SPED salaries and programs reimbursed by State? Fed?
10. Data reveals BOE/Superintendent loaded HS teachers less heavily than K-8. Why?
11. Why was such a light load and such high salaries used to formulate the HS operations?
12. Did BOE/Superintendent try to save money hiring teachers at a lower step? What happened?
13. Does the BOE plan to hire OR re-assign teachers from the lower level grades to support the HS?
14. The info seems to demonstrate there are sufficient teachers at the High School. Your thoughts?
15. Why was it planned to impact K-8 students with increases in their classroom sizes?
16. Can BOE/Superintendent offer some teachers a salary differential to teach an extra class?
17. Will this be considered?
18. Has BOE/Superintendent looked into dual certification that some of these teachers may hold?
19. Can teachers take on other subjects, if they are certified, to teach at same pay or extra pay?

There are cost effective opportunities here. I hope the BOE will use some of these suggestions.