Oxford Hills School District Employees "Give Back"

"It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness," from an old Chinese proverb.

"It is the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours," from President Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

Employees of the Oxford Hills School District have chosen to light hundreds of candles so none of their co-workers will have to face those darkest hours, at least for this school year.

We are located in western Maine, one of the poorest regions of the state. Eighty-nine percent of school districts in the state spend more per student than we do.

Faced with a mid-year reduction of State Aid to our 10 schools totaling over half a million dollars, every cost center manager has dissected his or her budget for ways to trim expenditures. Perseverance and tough decision-making have carved $400,000 from an already lean budget.

Approximately $70,000 in cuts still needed to be made for the current budget year. Staff members from every department - teachers, middle-management, supervisors, executives, secretaries, custodians, maintenance, food service, education technicians, central office staff, bus drivers, mechanics, dispatchers - then came together in a first-ever "give back" to the District.

Without opening any union contracts, an agreement was reached by which every employee was given an opportunity to "give back" to the District.  Most popular among the choices were taking an unpaid day off or giving a tax-deductible donation to the District.  The day off for teachers would have to be the final staff development day of the year.

To date, more than half (approximately 375) of the District's staff members have donated a total of more than $70,000. Any funds raised above and beyond the need for the current fiscal year will be applied toward next year's planned curtailment, which is expected to be much larger than the current one.

Our School District's story of generosity and camaraderie in times of hardship has been picked up by local and national news outlets including WMTW Channel 8 in Portland, ME (aired 2/10/09), Good Morning America (2/11), and abc World News with Charles Gibson (aired 2/13/09).

If you would like to make a tax deductible 501(c)(3) donation to help alleviate lay-offs in our next fiscal year, please make your check payable to:

"Oxford Hills Community Education Exchange," write "Give Back Program" on the memo line, and mail it to
Oxford Hills School District, 1570 Main Street, Suite 11, Oxford, ME 04270.

Thank you very much for your support!