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Comptroller’s audit criticizes RCSD

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli gave a harsh account of the Rochester City School Districtโ€™s payroll processes this morning, calling them โ€œdisorganized, highly decentralized, and not administered uniformly, resulting in errors that are costing taxpayers.โ€ DiNapoli made the statement as he released a new audit of the district, conducted from July 2014 to October 2016, which […]

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[UPDATED] Week Ahead: RCSD and city budget hearings, Cuomo cancels, RPO lawsuit proceeds

The Rochester school district will hold a public hearing on Superintendent Bolgen Vargasโ€™s proposed $728 million spending plan for the 2013 to 2014 school year. The budget has been criticized by parents because it includes closing School 30. Parents are also concerned about implementation of the new core curriculum and its impact on rigorous programs […]

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City school district tackles the budget — again

It’s a position no one would envy.             For the second time in this year’s budget cycle, Rochester school district officials are having to cut their budget, and more jobs and programs are on the line.             Critics, including Mayor Bill Johnson, State Assemblyman David Gantt, and some business-community leaders, have repeatedly charged that the […]

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The tough road ahead

As expected, last Thursday City Council turned down the Rochester school district’s pleas to give it the funding it wants.             The vote came on a technical point: Mayor Bill Johnson’s budget gives the district $7 million less than the city charter stipulates, and Thursday’s vote was on amending the charter. The vote on the […]

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A call to action

There’s a crisis in our schools — and the budget’s a distraction When City Council votes on the Rochester school budget next week, odds are it will do what Mayor Bill Johnson wants it to do: give the district $7 million less than it has asked for.             One reason is that the city has […]

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Oh, just let โ€™em fail

Far be it from me to suggest that the editorial page at The Other Paper is racist. You can draw your own conclusions.             Here are excerpts from recent editorials in the Democrat and Chronicle:             May 16, on the Rochester school district, which will have to cut crucial programs if it doesn’t get more […]

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Reader Feedback 5.14.03

Invest in schools As I began to read Charles Deering’s comments on the Rochester school budget (The Mail, April 23), I settled in to enjoy his sarcasm as he imitated ignoramuses who believe that schools are not the most important investment we can make. Imagine my shock when I realized that his ludicrous comments were […]

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