School board limits tax increase to 3.5 percent

Property owners in the Oxford Area School District are assured their tax bills won’t rise more than 3.5 percent.

Property owners in the Oxford Area School District are assured that their tax bills for the 2017-18 school year will not rise more than 3.5 percent.

During their Tuesday meeting, the school board approved a resolution committing to keeping any tax increase for the coming year to no more than the 3.5 percent allowed under the state’s Act 1 index. To exceed the index and impose a bigger tax increase, Act 1 requires a voter referendum that would have to take place during the spring primary elections.

The board’s resolution allows the district to proceed with developing the budget for the next school year using the Act 1 index as a ceiling for any tax hike.

“That’s the maximum. That’s not saying we’re going to raise taxes 3.5 percent” board member Howard Robinson stressed.

The district is still working on the draft budget, which will not be approved in its final form until May or June.

In other business, several parents addressed the board, asking that the Future Farmers of America Club (FFA) at the High School, be returned to chapter status. As a chapter, student members of the FFA have more opportunities for leadership roles and are eligible to attend competitions and the regional or national conventions.

Superintendent David Woods advised that additional emphasis on the FFA goes hand in hand with the district’s commitment to restoring the agricultural department at the Oxford High School. “This is the first year of our reintroduction of agricultural science at the high school,” he said.

Other agriculture-related programs are appearing in younger grades as well. This year, thirdand fourth-grade students are raising trout in their classrooms, plus there will be a pheasant restoration project this spring, where chicks will be hatched and raised for release.

Of note to parents is a presentation set for Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Penn’s Grove School on how to detect the signs of narcotics use and addiction.

The board’s resolution allows the district to proceed with developing the budget for the next school year using the Act 1 index as a ceiling for any tax hike.