The Board of Education approved new contracts for teachers and administrators following an executive session at Oxford High School during a special meeting Oct. 30.
The Valley Independent Sentinel was unable to obtain copies of the contract to verify the information from public officials. A request under the Freedom of Information Act will be filed.
Agreements between the board and the Oxford Education Association and Oxford Administrators Association show a zero percent wage increase in the first year of the contracts.
The two-year teachers contract calls for a 1 percent cost of living increase in the second year.
Administrators — with a three-year contract — will also have a zero percent wage increase in the first year. They’ll get a 2 percent general wage increase in the second year, and a 2.5 percent increase in the third year — along with an increase in insurance premiums.
Jerry Schwab, chairman of the education board’s “personnel and negotiations sub-committee,” said his group met with representatives from the education and administrators associations for approximately two months to agree on the contracts.
Schwab called the agreements a “win-win” situation for both the town and the unions.
“The representatives were very understanding of the current economic situation across the nation and in Oxford,” he said. “ This is a great contract for the town.”
Board member Debbie Sherman also said she was pleased with the outcome of the negotiations.
“I think it is fair to the district and the teachers who worked very well together,” she said.
Frank Samuelson, the principal at Oxford High School who represented administrators during negotiations, said there was give and take on both sides based on the current state of the economy.
Beverly Zarnowski, president of the Oxford Education Association, did not return numerous calls for comment.
Currently Board of Education Attorney Don Houston is preparing final drafts of the contract which, to date, have not been signed. Houston could not be reached at his office for comment.
Congratulations to the outgoing BOE members for finalizing a 0% increase for teachers in the upcoming school year. It is too bad these same members were not reelected because they were very dedicated.
The new board will have very little experience in all areas because so many are new. It will be a shame when the new Chairman, most likely McKinnon, tries to dictate actions that will be detrimental to the students of Oxford.
This demonstrates once again what a troublemaker you are! You clearly are! The biggest troublmaker you qwill ever have to deal with watches you in the mirror every morning!
My comment below is for “crazyinoxford”
Happy2BOxfordCitizen…guess what, you’ll just have to wait and see how this group of new BOE members act towards the Administration, towards the budget process, and what they start saying in their meetings. From seeing McKinnon in action and reading emails from some of the other “new” members coming on board, they already have an agenda to stir things up. They have little or no experience and if they elect McKinnon to lead, it will be detrimental for all.
It is this group of people that are now in the majority that dislike the administrators and the teacher’s union. That is not a good combination to have starting off.
This BOE will be watched CLOSELY and EVERY ACTION will be made public for all to know what they are saying and doing. It is this group that parents will realize they were wrong to vote for.
If I turn out to be wrong, great, but I have 100% confidence that McKinnon has an agenda, the other BOE Republicans will bow to her lead, and the truth of what they are up to will come out in the very near future!
The Oxford voters made their statement on election day to oust, by a wide margin, the democratic underticket. The democratic members of the Board of Finance, Planning & Zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals and Board of Education are not the majority now for the good of the town. They have every right to be upset with the lack of leadership of Bunzl. Petitioners Hellauer, Vizzo & Tichy made a mistake associating themselves with the democrats. The outgoing Board of Education did not have leadership. Lack of proper maintenance with 2 fires at Great Oak, 2 custodians to clean OHS? The town is split with the way Rogers and McKane were running the town. We can be sure the voters in Oxford will be watching very closely the decisions of Drayton-Rogers & McKane and hopefully they will work with the new underticket for the good of Oxford.
OxfordFamilyMan…the “underticket” does not set the direction of the town, nor how to move forward, that is the function of the Board of Selectmen, namely Drayton-Rogers and McKane.
The question will be, will the “underticket” work with Drayton-Rogers and McKane or try to ignore them and do their own thing? That is what people will be watching closely.
For example, at budget time, Drayton-Rogers and McKane will forward a budget to the BOF. Let’s say that budget is very fiscally conservative and provides little or no tax increase, but then the BOF increases it in a bid for it to look high, that will show not only is the BOF not wotking for the good of the town, but it will be pointed out that Republicans are trying to raise your taxes!
The same can be said for the BOE, this new group of people, with none of them having any budgetary experience, will they be able to put together a realistic budget? If they put something together that is not legitimate and is high, it will be viewed as game playing because we all know what the Republicans have done in the past with the BOE budgets and the cuts they have made once it got to the BOF. If the BOF does not cut a high BOE budget, they will be doing so only to create an unrealistic budget for people to vote against.
So, the pressure is not on Drayton-Rogers and McKane, it is on the “underticket” to prove they are working with the Selectmen for the good of the town and not doing things for political reasons. If they are doing things for political reasons, it will be appearant very quickly and we will make sure that every resident of Oxford knows what they are doing, how it is hurting Oxford, and exactly who is responsible for it!