In a collaborative effort between Oxford teachers and administrators, a two-year contract spanning 2006-2008 was agreed upon June 13.
The negotiation process began in February to find a way to meet both the needs and goals of the teachers and the district.
‘Because of the financial position of the district and of the state, they (had) to look at their contract for ways to reach some of those goals,? said Nancy Kammer, Director of Human Resources for Oxford schools.
The result was $950,000 worth of concessions over a two-year period.
Kammer said the biggest cost savings in the concessions is changing the teacher’s prescription card, which would create a higher co-pay and save the district $250,000. ‘As far as benefits, they’re able to maintain their current level of benefits as far as health insurance,? she said.
The teachers also agreed to decrease their elementary preparation minutes from 285 to 240, which is the county average, saving the district $100,000.
The structure of the district curriculum council was also changed to eliminate stipends for those on the committee, saving the district about $10,000.
Wages for coaches and club supervisors will be on a freeze for the next two years for a savings of $15,000, but teaching staff will receive a 1.5 percent increase in their wages each year for a total of $526,477.
Kammer said one clause from the contract that was completely dropped was teachers being reimbursed for their tuition, which saves the district $75,000.
Teacher lunchroom supervision at the high school will be designated to the security staff now, saving $10,000.
There is also a clause in the contract which gives the district the option of eliminating intramurals if the funds do not exist, which would total $7,000 if necessary.
Kammer said she was pleased with how smoothly the negotiations went over between the two groups, and that the teachers understand there may be more cuts next year.
‘They understand that for the second year of the contract, if necessary, we will look at the (health) benefits and determine if there’s large increases…we’ll have to look at other ways of saving money,? she said.