Teachers and administrators contracts recently approved by the school board are not on Mondays’ town meeting agenda despite a recommendation by Board of Finance to put them there.
One Board of Finance member feels the omission is a deliberate act by the Board of Selectmen to keep the public from voting on the contracts.
The contracts — approved by the school board Oct. 30 — shows a zero percent wage increase for the Oxford Education Association (the teacher’s union) and the Oxford Administrators Association (school administrators, other than the superintendent) in the first year of the contracts.
The two-year teachers contract, scheduled to begin Sept. 1, 2010 calls for a one percent cost of living increase in its second year.
The three-year administrator’s contract — scheduled to begin July 1, 2010 — calls for a 2 percent wage increase in its second year, and a 2.5 percent increase in the third year.
During a special meeting of the Finance Board Dec. 2, a majority of the members agreed the administrators’contract pays school principals too much money and provides too many sick days.
According to the administrators contract, administrators receive 45 paid sick days, six weeks paid vacation and 18 paid holidays throughout the school year.
The finance board voted 4-2 to recommend that the Board of Selectmen include the contracts on the agenda for Mondays’ town meeting for a public vote.
Republican Selectman David Yish supported the Board of Finance’s recommendation, and requested at the Board of Selectmens’ Dec. 2 meeting that the contracts be added to the town meeting agenda.
Yish’s motion was overruled, with Democratic Selectman Dave McKane voting no. First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers, a Democrat, abstained.
According to finance board member Tom Kelly, the Board of Selectmen decided that the concerns of his board were not worthy enough to include the contracts on the agenda.
He added the board’s denial is keeping the public from having its say on the matter.
“They don’t want the people to discuss it so they deliberately kept it off,” he said. “The Selectmen are telling the people they have to accept it the way it is.”
McKane said the Board of Education did an outstanding job negotiating contracts with and administrators, adding that the Board of Finance is a on a “power trip,” trying to micromanage other town boards.
“I wish they (Board of Finance) would understand what their role is and not try to manage other peoples boards,” he said.
The teachers contract was submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office on Nov. 12. The administrators contract was submitted on Nov. 16.
The contracts are open to the public for 30 days of receipt at the Town Clerk’s office before they are ratified, according to state law.
McKane said because the teachers contract will be ratified on Monday and the administrators contract on Wednesday discussions on the contracts are unlikely.
“There will be no discussion of the contract nor do I think there will be any in the future,” he said.
Kelly said at this point there is not much more that can be done in regards to the contracts.
“The people are out of luck,” he said. “The only recourse is to vote the board out of office in two years.”
Mr. Kelly should stop trying to be involved in everything else except the board of finance. The motion made to send this to the Board of Selectman was invalid and he knows it. The contracts are a win for the town and the kids of Oxford. The word micromanage sounds about right for this board of finance. It is going to be a long two years. The new members of the board of education have not even read the contracts yet they come to meetings asking for it to be added to the agenda.READ it first take off your republican glasses and realize that these are good contracts for the town. Look at what has gone on around us. Arbitrated contracts have been awarded higher than what was fairly negotiated. Mr. Kelly’s wife is on the board of education. Oh, thats right she has missed all of the meeting about the contracts and a number of other important issues. Now that it is a republican board, she is coming to meetings.. The chair of the board of finance recently in another newspaper said the teacher contract was a good one.. So are we sending the public mixed messages. Here we go again with negativity back on the boards in Oxford..
Definitely a power trip. Too bad they didn’t go to arbitration. It would have been another Kelly-inspired train wreck-just like the “Keep Oxford Green” fiasco.
The problem is that EVERYTHING with these Oxford Republicans has to be turned into a political football game. They are a bunch of insane people!
These Republicans, both on the BOF & BOE, are an embarrassment to their party. They will do everything in their power to create divide and then try to blame others. Now that they have a majority on these boards, it will be easy to show the public who has been at fault all of these years because it will come out as clear as day in their actions, just as it already has with the first meeting of both boards.
If they think going the negative route now will be to their advantage in two years, they are in for a big surprise!
Didn’t they just have a chance to vote the board out? Didn’t they vote them back in?
Oxford’s people have no say to begin with; the town is run from Oxford Greens, all the non-yuppies are along for the ride. They don’t know any better.
Sounds like there a lot of dems posting here. They neglect to mention that the former BOE played fast and loose with the meetings that the contracts were negotiated and finalized in. Why could they not wait just 5 days for the election of the new board? Very suspicious! For anyone who knows anything about the previous board is that they were very ‘cozy’ with the admins. Poor teachers didn’t get as much luck.
poor teachers! you have got to be kidding me. There are problems with the all the contracts (too many sick days, pension cost that are not disclosed, no merit pay based system)but that is the result of years of poor public management of education. In comparison to other districts Oxford didn’t do half bad.
if you want to complain about costs someone should ask why Oxford PUBLIC Schools is paying tuition at Easton Country Day School? A private school costing over $14,000 a year. Who are we paying to go there????? and why????
(see voucher detail on Oxford Board of Ed website under business office for verification)
The Valley Independent Sentinel did a great justice in their articles bringing to the attention of the public the BOE contract controversy in Oxford. The former democratically controlled Board of Education with Paula Guillet and her colleagues were way too generous to the administrators. For example how could the BOE democrats allow administrators to receive 45 paid sick days for the school year? That is outrageous! Our economy is in too bad shape to be so generous. Becky Piorek in her Letter to the Editor in the Voices, dated December 16, 2009 made an excellent point by writing, “I have no issue with the BOF meeting to discuss contracts and wanting the public to see them; I think the public should be aware of any contracts with the town.” She is absolutely right. Contracts should be added to the town meetings. It is clear the people of Oxford were tired of the games by the democrats and at the last election took away their control of the boards and commissions. It is time the democrats worked for the good of the town as they pledged to do in their campaign.
OxfordFamilyMan…if you think Oxford’s contracts for their administrators are “outrageous”, give us some facts about these contracts that are different then what other Administrators in other towns get.
Give specific examples and if Oxford really is different then other towns, then I agree with you, but if they are not, then you need to stop playing these games.
Proof, what proof do you have that is real?
It figures, OxfordFamilyMan and all of the others like him are full of hot air!
I challenge anyone, provide PROOF that these contracts are much different then what other Administrators get in other town. If you can, then we will listen, but if you can’t, we no longer want to hear from you.
Give us your proof if you have any!
Not that I need to reply for OxfordFamilyMan but two wrongs do not make a right. Just because other districts have liberal policies doesn’t mean we need to automatically accept it. The main problem I have with vacation days is who monitors them? My experience with kids in the school system is that most administrators and teachers are there all the time, but there are a select few who abuse the system. Who watches out for the abuse: Superintendent, school board??? No one I’m afraid.