Tempers Flare, Budget Adopted At Oxford BOE

Following a heated argument between two of its members, the Oxford Board of Education Tuesday approved a budget request for 2012 – 2013 that would increase spending 3.31 percent over the current budget.

The board approved a $26,798,247 request by a vote of 6 – 1, with the only opposition vote coming from Ted Oczkowski.

Before the final vote, Oczkowski and Paula Guillet, the chair of the school board, got into an argument after Oczkowski raised what he called a ​“concern about transparency,” saying he hadn’t received budget documents in a timely manner.


“Try picking up your mail,” Guillet shot back while using a gavel. ​“You have not picked up your mail since November, Mr. Oczkowski.”

“There’s no need to lose control and start banging the gavel,” Oczkowski said. ​“Don’t make the mistake and think that you’re my mother.”

School board Vice Chair Lisa Hellauer stopped the argument by insisting that the motion to approve the budget proceed. Click the videos to see the exchange. Second set of videos are from Oxford Patch.

Oczkowski left immediately afterward. After the meeting, Guillet said she was ​“very disappointed” in Oczkowski’s behavior.

“He has not contacted me once to have that delivered to him in any way, shape, or form,” she said, calling Oczkowski’s behavior ​“sour grapes.”

With respect to the actual budget, Guillet said it represented ​“the best budget process that I’ve been in in my six years on this board.”

Voters will get the ultimate say on the school budget when it is put to a public vote later this year.

The budget approved Tuesday represents a decrease of $524,759 from the spending plan proposed by Interim Superintendent John Reed earlier this month.

Guillet said after the meeting that the most significant savings came in insurance costs. Board member Gerard Carbonaro said the board was able to save money by changing property deductibles on buildings in town and by negotiating renewals with carriers.

The school district’s business manager, Rosemary Hanson, said after the meeting that other savings were found because of increased cost-sharing for health benefits in the teacher’s contract. 

One substantive change the board did make from Reed’s request was to remove a first-grade teaching position to reflect lower enrollment, though Guillet said she didn’t anticipate that resulting in a layoff.

The board also reduced technology spending by about $47,000 from the amount proposed by Reed, Guillet said after the meeting, though board members did add back about $20,000 for spending on new computers before voting Tuesday.

The spending plan approved Tuesday would add a 10-month assistant principal’s position at the middle school for $66,906, restore two kindergarten paraprofessional positions for $95,934, and two clerical positions for $87,355.

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