A $56.7 million budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which begins July 1, was presented last week to the Oxford Board of Education by Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sam Barna.

The budget includes nearly $56.7 million in total revenue, with local revenue accounting for $5.8 million of that total, based on a student count of 5,880 and an expected $120 increase per pupil in State Aid Allowance.

“We are not projecting any enrollment increases at this particular time, so we are taking a fairly conservative approach (with the budget),” Barna said.

Local revenue for the district is expected to drop nearly 5 percent from last year’s numbers, following recent changes to the Oxford International Program (OIP) which saw all second- and third-year international students move to Rochester College, rather than study on-site at Oxford High School.

According to Barna, the change will also mean a near-32 percent decrease in expenditures for the OIP in the 2017-18 year.

A 3.42 percent increase in instruction expenditures are included in next year’s proposed budget, following an agreement between Oxford Community Schools and the Oxford Education Association (the teachers union), which was approved May 23 for the period of September 1, 2017 through August 2020.

Barna also noted a 10.58 percent increase in the “added needs” expenditures for the district, which he attributed to the district’s recent addition of two Special Education Teaching positions—one at Oxford Middle School and one at OHS.

The district is expected to see a decrease of 10.72 percent in operations and maintenance expenditures next year, according to Barna, despite several delayed projects in the current fiscal year.

One of those delayed projects is the purchase and installation of security devices designed to barricade doors district-wide and keep dangerous intruders out.

The purchase and installation are expected to be done this summer for just over $50,000.

Another expenditure included in the original budget is $210,000 for excavation and repavement costs associated with a water main project to take place along Wildcat Drive during the summer months.

The project was originally scheduled to take place within the 2016-17 fiscal year, but was delayed, according to Barna.

The water project is being undertaken by Oxford Township to allow the Lake Villa Manufactured Home Community to connect to the municipal water system. Excavation is expected to run through a portion of Wildcat Drive this summer.

“(The township hasn’t) really approached our property yet, but they’re going to be doing so the next several weeks. That won’t be paid for until (the) 2017-18 (fiscal year) … We have a nice favorable variance this year, but that money will be spent next year,” Barna added.

Barna added in a later interview with this reporter that a Memorandum of Understanding between the township and school district was signed, in which they agreed to split the cost of the road work– with the township paying a third and the district paying two-thirds.

This allowed the district to save a portion of the cost required to repave a damaged portion of Wildcat Drive, while also allowing the township to reduce the cost of the water main project by cutting through the property.

“Wildcat Drive has been in bad shape for a number of years. The (Memorandum of Understanding) helped save money for the township because (the township) could cut through our property and save money (on pipe) and (the district) wanted to have (Wildcat Drive) partially re-done anyways. (The repavement) would have cost (the district) much more without this agreement,” Barna told this reporter.

According to Barna, $475,000 was transferred from the general fund to the district’s recently established capital projects fund to cover carryover projects, such as the water main project and the door barricades, in the coming school year.

The district is also projected to end the upcoming fiscal year in the black with a surplus of $15,804.

The board of education is expected to approve the budget, along with the final amended budget for the 2016-17 year, at its June 27 meeting.