OXFORD – Oxford taxpayers will face an estimated 3.9 percent tax levy hike based on the tentative budget adopted by the district’s board of education last night. The proposed spending plan, which voters will be asked to approve on May 18, totals $17,087,976. According to Superintendent Randy Squier, that figure represents a $140,724, or .82 percent, decrease in spending over the current year's budget.
“[T]he Board and I are very sensitive to the fact that a 3.9 percent levy increase is added financial pressure on all our residents, especially those who are unemployed or on fixed incomes,” said Squier, who commended the community for their support of the local school in the past.
“I ask that residents review our budget documents and notice that our spending will be less than 2008-09 and that state aid will be reduced for a second year,” he added. “The school has been responsible with our expenditures, and now must weather the economic mess created by our state-wide elected officials.”
Oxford, like all districts across New York, is facing steep reductions in state aid in the coming year. Their share of Governor David Paterson’s plan to narrow the state’s budget gap is $428,445, the equivalent of 2.5 percent of the district’s total budget for the current academic year. At the same time, according to Squier, they face an additional $654,000 in employee benefit related expenses, as well as contractually obligated wage increases for members of the support staff and teachers unions. All told, Oxford was facing a gap between its anticipated revenue and expenditures in excess of $1 million.
In an effort to mitigate the impact on taxpayers, Squier’s final proposal included tapping into the district’s reserves to the amount of $300,000 and outlined more than $580,000 in personnel and program cuts.
The plan will eliminate a total of 6.5 jobs including 2 administrative positions and 4.5 teaching positions.
The administrative cuts - which will abolish the positions of Primary School Principal Tim McDonald and Coordinator of Student Learning Janet Laytham - will save the district roughly $190,000, according to the superintendent.
McDonald will be leaving the district, while Laytham hopes to stay on to fill the vacant High School principal position, to which she was appointed on an interim basis on March 29.
The cuts will mean remaining administrators will have to pick up extra duties, according to Squier. He, for example, will assume the role of building administrator at the Primary School.
Six teachers will be affected by the $253,300 in staffing cuts, which will abolish 3.5 teaching positions and reduce two additional full-time positions to part-time.
All of the reductions are on the 7 to 12 Grade level. Of the positions which will be eliminated in their entirety, one of those full-time positions will be vacated due to the retirement of Social Studies teacher Roger Carey. The others – one full-time science teacher, one full-time English teacher and a part-time health teacher shared through BOCES with the Afton Central School District – will be laid off.
