Cuts to All City High’s teaching and non-teaching staff amount to a self-inflicted wound for the Rochester school district, says Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association. All City High’s instructional staff of about 120 teachers will be cut next school year to about 64, according to current plans, Urbanski says. That doesn’t include […]
School Board
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EDUCATION: School board ok’s closing School 16-but only temporarily
The Rochester school board voted 6 to 0 last night (with board member Cynthia Elliott absent) to close School 16 in the 19th Ward, but only for repairs. It will re-open after repairs are completed. In the interim, kindergarten through eighth-grade classes will be housed at Freddie Thomas High School in northeast Rochester, beginning this […]
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EDUCATION: Vargas gets $195,000 contract
The Rochester school board, by a vote of 6 to 1, has agreed to enter a four-year contract with Bolgen Vargas to lead the school district. The vote was held at this evening’s school board meeting. Vargas will be paid $195,000 annually, about a $20,000 bump from his current salary. The contract begins on July […]
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NEWS BLOG: COMIDA vs. the Greece School Board
The Greece School Board is taking a stand against proposed tax breaks for the Greece Ridge Mall. The county Industrial Development Agency is proposing a plan that would limit future property tax increases on the mall for 25 years. The mall’s owner, a subsidiary of Wilmorite, plans to reconfigure the former Bon-Ton space into several […]
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[UPDATED] Agreement near on funding school modernization
UPDATE (Thursday, May 31): The bill passed the Assembly yesterday and now goes to the governor for his signature. BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO and CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN Mayor Tom Richards, city schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas, and Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski are close to resolving the funding issue that nearly stalled the district’s schools […]
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Sizing up the battle for school board
There are 10 candidates running for four open seats on the Rochester School Board this year. Four Democrats will face off against four Republicans, an Independence candidate, and a candidate running on the Working Families line. The Democrats — Malik Evans, David Perez, Willa Powell, and Shirley Thompson — were profiled in City Newspaper‘s […]
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Thanks for nothing
It’s easy to become jaded while observing local politics, especially as it pertains to education. Contrary to some folks’ naïve notions, “education is a political process,” as city school board member Bolgen Vargas said at the board’s June 19 meeting. Indeed, politics was on everyone’s mind that night. The board had convened to pick […]
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Reader feedback 6.11.03
The School Board primary, pesticides on lawns, Doyle taxes
Posted inNews & Opinion
Welcome to the machine
by Chris Busby At least three Democratic candidates for seats on the Rochester City School Board will continue their campaigns, despite failing to get the party’s endorsement at its May 17 convention. Howard Eagle, Jim Greco, and Woody Hammond say they’ll gather petition signatures to force a primary this September, in hopes of running on […]
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Secrets and oversights
At first glance, it certainly seems like there could have been something nefarious about the Rochester City School Board’s superintendent search. For one thing, candidates were interviewed in secret and their names were not released, even as the search committee narrowed the pool down to five and, later, two finalists. (The board announced its pick […]
