The Oxford Board of Education hired a new business manager Tuesday night.
Board members expressed hope that the move would mark the end of a turbulent period for the job.
Rosemary Hanson, who’s been the finance director in Clinton since 1996, said she could start Dec. 6, according to Interim Superintendent of Schools James A. Connelly.
Hanson, who also serves as the business manager for the Clinton Board of Education, will make $95,000 a year, Connelly said.
Hanson is the permanent replacement for Al Pullo, who resigned in June amid the fracas over then-Superintendent Judith Palmer’s contract. Arthur Poole has been the school district’s interim business manager since July.
Palmer herself quit in August, and the Oxford board is in the middle of a search to fill the job.
Connelly noted that Hanson is Oxford’s 17th business manager in 22 years, and he hopes she’ll reverse the trend.
“The history of keeping business managers is not a good one,” he said. “The turnover has had a negative effect on the district.”
Hanson wasn’t at Tuesday’s meeting, but Connelly and Board Chairwoman Rose McKinnon, who traveled to Clinton to watch their top pick at work, gushed about her attributes.
“This is a person who’s not a revolving-door person,” Connelly said. “She stays where she is… in my opinion, she’s a real find.”
McKinnon said Hanson’s bosses and co-workers in Clinton were “very emotional” at the prospect of losing her to the Oxford job.
The board unanimously approved the hiring, although board member Paula Guillet abstained, saying she would have liked to have met Hanson before the vote. Guillet, a Democrat, has clashed with
McKinnon and other Republican board members over how the board handled the Palmer situation.
McKinnon said what made Hanson stand out were her organizational skills and her longevity in Clinton. The district’s business office needs stability and competence, McKinnon said, and she said she’s confident that Hanson will bring that.
“We’ve made a commitment to Ms. Hanson, just as she’s made a commitment to us,” McKinnon said.
McKinnon said she and the board didn’t want to wait until a new superintendent is hired because budget season is coming up, and past problems need to be permanently solved as soon as possible.
“Our real priority is getting the financial health of this district to an acceptable level,” she said. “The superintendent presents the budget, but it’s the business manager that does it.”
Poole, who said Tuesday that he’ll work to help Hanson get up to speed even after she starts in Oxford full-time, also gave the board an update on this year’s budget.
Based on what’s been spent, what’s already committed and his projections for other expenses, Poole said the district is on track to run a $23,000 surplus on its $25 million budget.
Poole said the numbers are going to change as the year progresses — the fiscal year ends June 30 — but the district is working with a razor-thin margin.
“That’s an awfully low figure for this point in the year,” Poole said.
He added that he generally recommends at least a one percent cushion, far less than what he’s projecting.
“This is one-tenth of one percent,” Poole said. “We’ve got a really, really tight budget.”
