School board sends right message

Hats off to the Oxford Board of Education for lowering their salaries from $30 to $1 per meeting.
If all seven members attend all 24 regular meetings, it used to cost the school district $5,040 per year.
With the salary cut in place, it will now cost the district $168 per year.
That’s a nice little savings and money that can be channeled directly into the classroom.
Some may argue that it’s not much of a savings when compared to the district’s annual multi-million dollar budget. True.
But every penny counts, especially when they’re taxpayer pennies and the district is worried about budget shortfalls. The more taxpayer pennies that can find their way into the classroom, the better.
School Board Vice-President Lee Barclay deserves special recognition for proposing the salary cut.
“I think we need to send out the message that we know things are tight and that we care and understand,” Barclay said.
We get the feeling Barclay is a school board member who understands the importance of sending the public the right message. We get the feeling he’s someone who really cares what the public thinks.
We also salute the three other school board members who voted in favor of the salary cut – Anthony Giannola, Doug Myer and Carol Mitchell-Bliemeister.
Three new board members. Three new voices. Three new points of view.
We hope their “yes” votes are a sign of more wise and prudent decisions to come. – CJC