Unlimited schools of choice is soon coming to an Oxford school near you.
At its Feb. 8 meeting the Board of Education voted 6-0 (Trustee Dan D’Alessandro was absent) to accept Assitant Superintendent of Student Services Jill Lemond’s recommendation regarding Schools of Choice for the the 2022-2023 school year.
Lemond’s recomendations were for unlimited schools of choice for Developmental Kindergarten through 9th grade; unlimited-schools of choice enrollment for 10th and 11th grades for IB, Health Science, Engineering Academy and Dance Conservatory, Early College.
The board also opened up Oxford Virtual Academy to unlimited schools of choice for Developmental Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Enrollment opens next Tuesday (March 1) and closes in August.

Enrollment up
over 3% in Oxford

An unexpected increse in enrollment at Oxford Community Schools has also resulted in an increase in the district’s budget.
Sam Barna, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations for the districted reported the increases to the school board at its Feb. 8 meeting.
According to Barna, in June the district anticipated an enrollment (in-person and virtually) of 6,866 Full Time Equivilent (FTE) students. As of February, enrollment was up 210 FTE students — an increase of 3.1 percent. The student count now is 7,076.
The district had also budgeted $8,311 per pupil spending. Barna said the state increased that number to $8,700 per pupil. The larger enrollment and increased per pupil funding meant the district’s budget grew $5.3 million from $76,799,602 to $82,118,573.

Masked up ‘til Feb. 28

Even though the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) lifted its mandate on indoor public settings, inlcuding schools, masks will remain on faces in Oxford schools.
MDHHS made this announcement on Feb. 16, with the caveat, “There may be local masking guidance, policies and/or orders from local health departments, organizations, and/or school districts that must be followed . . .”
Locally, schools are bound by the Oakland County Health Department’s decree that mask must be worn until Feb. 28.