The search for the Rochester City School District’s next superintendent is well under way, school board president Van White says. The board received 31 applications for the job, and it has narrowed that down to seven people. The board is interviewing them in person now. The goal is to narrow that group down to three […]
Tim Louis Macaluso
I was born and raised in the Rochester area, but I lived in California and Florida before returning home about 12 years ago. I'm a vegetarian and live with my husband and our three pugs. I cover education, health care, and local politics for City.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Highland Hospital gets expansion OK
Highland Hospital and its residential neighbors have finally found some common ground, allowing the hospital to move ahead with its $70 million expansion plan. City Council unanimously approved Highland Hospital’s application last week to rezone the hospital’s 9.27-acre site from an Institutional Planned Development District to a Planned Development District. Highland needed the rezoning before […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
RCSD’s challenge: budgeting for a shrinking district
The Rochester school district’s budget has been a target of the district’s critics for years. The district, they say, has plenty of money, but its officials don’t know how to manage it. But Interim Superintendent Daniel Lowengard’s proposed $925 million budget for next year, which he presented to school board members last week, highlights an […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Sharp budget cuts in RCSD’s future
Rochester’s Interim Superintendent, Daniel Lowengard, presented his proposed budget for next year to the school board yesterday: $925 million, a slight increase over this year’s $922 million. But balancing the budget required $40 million in cuts, including eliminating 326 full-time jobs, Lowengard said.
Posted inSpecial Sections
Citizen action
Many people would like to do something impactful for their block, neighborhood, or village, but don’t know where to begin or how to sustain it. Around the region, though, residents have been organizing to improve their community, and they can provide inspiration. Among them: Rochester resident John Boutet, who is pushing for a return to […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Children’s mental health needs attention
When state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and Attorney General Letitia James released the findings earlier this month concerning the death of Rochester student Trevyan Rowe, they couldn’t have been tougher. They slammed the district for a slew of “systemic failures” in school policies and procedures. Trevyan, who was a student at School 12, appeared to […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Warren wants community schools in district budget
There’s long been tension between the city administration and the Rochester City School District over the city’s $119 million contribution to the district’s annual operating budget. The city is required to give the money to the school district because the Rochester school district can’t levy taxes on its own, so it’s dependent on the city […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Highland’s growth worries neighbors
If City Council approves a rezoning request next week, Highland Hospital will be able to move forward with its estimated $70 million plan to add four stories to the existing three-story building. The City Planning Commission approved Highland’s application last month to rezone the hospital’s 9.27-acre site from an Institutional Planned Development District to a […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
City school district officials say attendance-taking has improved
Rochester city school district officials say they have taken steps to improve attendance-taking over the course of the past year. At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, officials said the district hired 10 employees last year to work in the attendance department. Those employees work out of a call center located in the district’s main office […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Elia rejects RCSD’s improvement plan
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia’s much anticipated response to the Rochester school board about its plan for improving the district was tough and direct: Redo it. She’ll be sending a more detailed response, she said in a letter to board President Van White, but she added: “After my review of the RCSD Plan, I want […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Guatemalan women resist oppression
Guatemalan women, especially those who are indigenous, have long dealt with pervasive domestic and sexual violence. But historically they haven’t been able to bring about cultural change, says Brian Thompson-Royer. Brian and his wife, Sandi, have been working in Guatemala with the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala since 2014 to help women protect themselves […]
