The Oxford Board of Education has approved hiring an interim business manager at $600 a day.
The district needed to replace Al Pullo, who resigned last month amidst the controversy surrounding the superintendent’s contract being voided.
The board Wednesday voted to allow Superintendent Judith Palmer to hire Arthur Poole on a part-time basis during the summer.
Poole — a retired Board of Education finance manager for various districts in Connecticut — has experience with the Oxford Board of Education: He was the interim business manager from November 2003 until February 2004.
Palmer said Poole has helped the district out other times in the past.
“I’m looking for a quick turnaround here,” Palmer told the Board of Education Wednesday. “I’m hoping he can get us through the summer at three days a week. If I find it’s not adequate, I’ll come back to the board and let you know.”
The Resignation
Pullo told the Valley Indy last month he resigned because felt he was being pushed out.
He said he saw the “writing on the wall,” in January when he and Palmer prepared the budget and then were excused from attending any budget session meetings.
Since then, the Board of Education has voided Palmer’s contract, and tried to change the way her review was completed.
Pullo also said last month he learned his contract was also under review.
Pullo’s last day was June 30, and he said he took a job with the Woodbridge school system in a similar position for the upcoming school year.
The New Guy
Palmer said Poole would not budge on the figure of $600 a day.
He had also asked for an additional $250 for each night meeting he would be required to attend, but Palmer said he has agreed to waive that extra fee.
The cost to employ Poole part-time is roughly the same as Pullo was making for his full-time salary.
Poole has experience as the business manager or director of finance for education boards in Vernon, Region 12, Winchester, Bloomfield, Windham, Brookfield and Windsor Locks, according to his resume.
He is currently retired, Palmer said.
Next Step
The district will start reviewing applications for the position this month, Palmer said.
“We haven’t started the interviewing process,” Palmer said. “We have 10 applications at central office right now that we need to take a look at.”
Board of Education Chair woman Rose McKinnon said she wanted members of the board’s administrative and finance subcommittees, along with central office employees, to interview the candidates.
She also suggested extending the search beyond Connecticut.
$600 a day @ 3 days a week is $93,600 annually, not bad for temp/ part-time job. If working full time at this rate his annual salary would be $156,000.
Why would the Superintendent and the district’s business manager be excused from budget meetings? This BOE is certainly not getting off on the right foot. They appear to be either incompetent or underhanded. In either case, they are tarnishing the town of Oxford’s reputation as a desirable place to live and raise a family.
Boy, I hope whoever they get is half as competent as the last guy. $600/day is outrageous and I’m surprised the Board didn’t ask for other choices. Rocket, what do you think the business manager and superintendent would say about the cuts being proposed? Budget cuts should not be personal but financial and maybe the Board felt it would be easier to make cuts without bias
I don’t know maybe the Superintendent and Business Manager, as educational professionals might have made some rational arguments about why you need an A/P at a 500+ junior high school! They have the educational and professional experience to make thoughtful recommendations. Instead let a bunch of rank amateurs make educational decisions effecting the overall quality of the system. If you need to cut expenses that is why you have professionals, tell them the number they need to get to and review their suggestions. The arrogance of this board will be thier undoing and I’m afraid the undoing of the system.
Jim, you are incorrect once again my friend. The Finance sub-committee requested the superintendent to cut the budget but they were not able to – only then was the position cuts made by the committee. Also, in my opinion the A/P position is not as important as teacher positions, was not there just a couple of years ago and was a good choice to cut. Those rank amateurs as you call them have dealt with multi-million dollar budgets as professionals. Look at what the previous Board did and see what the results were and maybe you will need to look in the mirror to see the real arrogant person.
Funny I have read the minutes of the finance committee meetings and see no request to the Superintendent for ideas on reducing expenses? My favorite paper in the world also called this BOE a kangaroo court, perfectly stated. As far as teachers, if you have done any research you’ll find that the most important element to a quality education is not class size but the quality of the teacher in front of the class. Hiring a slew of first year teachers, as mandated by the BOE for new hires, will give us lower class size yes but with inexperienced teachers and who will be monitoring them??? No A/P, no curriculum coordinator, who is to manage this system??? If we really wanted to do something about quality we would increase and mandate teacher development and hold teachers to a higher standard and scrutiny.
The budget meetings went on for hours and included requests via email as well. Not everything is possible or even feasible to be in the minutes. The fact is many requests were made for the superintendent to reduce budget items, as a matter of fact, every line item was gone through multiple times. Your favorite paper is probably a liberal media paper – there are lots of them around. They report on emotional stuff that gets attention but unfortunately are not objective writers. So I’m sure you love them. I like your defense of administration but attack on teachers – shows your true colors. I agree with accountability but with administration as well as teachers and we shouldn’t allow favoritism of some; accountability for all. I have faith that step 1 teachers are capable of teaching appropriately, we do not need to pay people 80K in order to get good teachers. Taxpayers, Jim, unlike democrats, are not for paying top dollar for everything.
The Waterbury Republican is now a liberal paper? So the administrator was let go not for budget purposes but favoritism????? A saying I learned long ago: it’s always hard to keep lies straight. And it just wasn’t important enough to discuss reducing the budget to make it into the minutes. It this was not so serious it would be funny.
Stopthelies…WOW! Your ignorance of education is scary! I know it is your “opinion” that, “the A/P position is not as important as teacher positions” but you are, once again, negligent in facts. Cutting the AP position did not add any teaching positions, if fact, the BOE added part-time worthless positions which cost more than the ‘savings” of eliminating the AP position. I would assume that your “opinion” is based on consulting educators or at least reading up on the latest educational trends. If so, you would understand how a well balanced and effective educational system is run and funded. There was a letter submitted to the BOE from the TEACHING staff outlining the importance and necessity of an AP. It’s a shame that it was “not in (the chairman’s) folder” so it could not be read into the minutes. How convenient.
I’ve been biting my tongue for a while now but this is getting out of hand. When are we going to realize that education is not about the Superintendant, it’s not about the Board of Ed it’s about our kids? I read recently that if we lose the Superintendant it would be devastating. Devastating? Open your eyes with oil destroying the gulf, men and women who aren’t able to legally by beer dying in the middle east someone has the nerve to use the term devastating when speaking of this issue. Education is about the kids. The same kids who suffered with outrageous class sizes as this Superintendant sat on surpluses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year.
Yes, I believe that the AP position is not as important as teacher positions! Many people do and you are incorrect in your assessment because the reduction of the AP translates directly into a teaching position. The worthless positions you are talking about are a tech position for a middle school where children will be going to a high tech High School; Paras that are state-mandated for spec ed. Maybe they are worthless to you but to many parents they are extremely important.
Spitting the same rhetoric proves my point of your misguided opinions. Do some research and then get back to me. The damage that the BOE “kangaroo court” (Waterbury Republican) is inflicting will directly affect our children, it is painful to watch.
and here in lies the problem, Stop the Lies, who based on his/her comments, is obviously on the BOE, has a personal opinion about importance of A/P and teachers. Fine he is entitled to it but what is your experience and knowledge in forming this opinion? Do you have a teaching degree, have your ever taught, been in a classroom other than as a student? Did you seek information on your opinion from any qualified sources before acting on it? You are oblivious to the realities of a modern school system and focus on all the wrong areas for change. If there had been ANY thoughtful, intelligent discussion on this matter at the board level you could have some comfort in the decision. But there was none, just a politically motivated group making destructive changes to satisfy their over-inflated ego’s.
Yes, I am Jim and the voters elected me to be one of 9 members that make these decisions. They felt I was qualified enough so it does not matter what you think. In 4 years I will be off the Board and the voters will speak again to who they feel should put together the BOE budget for the town.