Board schedules vote on flexible instruction days and weighs a tuition waiver for an administrator's child

The Oxford Area School District Board discussed two operational items during its June 9 work session: whether to apply for flexible instruction days (FIDs) under state law, and whether to place a proposed tuition waiver for an administrator’s child on the next regular meeting agenda.

Superintendent Dr. Woods outlined FIDs (Act 64 of 2019) and the district’s experience. Under the law, districts may use up to five FIDs in a school year (after three traditional snow days). Dr. Woods noted the district has used FID planning in the past but sometimes lets applications lapse; the state’s approval covers up to three school years. He cautioned that Oxford’s rural connectivity and device activation constraints can limit the instructional robustness of same‑day virtual instruction, though paper packets and hotspot deployments are mitigations. Staff described a plan for teacher office hours and role expectations during FIDs and emphasized that the superintendent retains discretion to activate FIDs only when appropriate.

After discussion of tradeoffs — instructional continuity versus equity and technology access — the board agreed to place the FID item on next week’s regular meeting agenda and asked staff to seek quick input from the teacher‑union executive ahead of that vote.

On a separate agenda item, Dr. Woods introduced a tuition‑waiver request for kindergarten attendance by an administrator’s child and recommended a full (zero) waiver. Board members asked about fiscal precedent and impact; staff estimated nonresident elementary tuition at roughly $10,000 and noted the district’s prior practice of waiving 50% for some staff members but said a full waiver for an administrator is not typical. The board directed staff to add the waiver request to next week’s regular meeting agenda (not the consent agenda) for a separate vote.