Gov. Kathy Hochul said she based her decision on lower COVID-19 infection rates and new CDC guidance.
Schools
Rochester schools contractor settles diversity fraud case for $200K
Bell Mechanical Contractors will pay New York $200,000 for forging diversity criteria in the Rochester Schools Modernization Program.
RCSD superintendent warns of 800 layoffs without state bailout
RCSD Superintendent Terry Dade told Albany lawmakers on Tuesday that the district will have to lay off 800 people if the state doesn’t meet its request for $35 million in emergency aid.
Crunch time in the Legislature
The State Legislature has a long-standing tradition of passing a slew of legislation on the last day or two of its session. This year, the crunch included bills for a medical marijuana program, an extension of the brownfields tax credit program through early 2017, and a bill to add Family Court judges, including one for […]
Mayoral candidate White talks about education
Alex White, the Green Party’s candidate for mayor, unveiled his education plan at a brief press conference yesterday. Given that White’s opponent, Democrat Lovely Warren, has made education the cornerstone of her campaign, White had to sa y something on the topic. But his plan is really a repackaged version of the Green Party’s fight […]
State to intervene in RCSD
The Rochester school district is one of 70 public school districts in New York flagged as a “Focus School District” by the State Education Department, an unfavorable designation given to low-performing districts. Twenty-two Rochester schools have been classified as “Focus Schools” and 30 are “Priority Schools,” designations under the FSD umbrella. The new classifications are […]
NEWS BLOG: FMP project to break ground on Thursday
The first time I heard about the city school district’s facilities modernization project was during a meeting with former Superintendent Manny Rivera. He was so enthusiastic and spoke with such urgency that it seemed like it would be only months before the mammoth $325 million project to renovate and modernize Rochester’s schools would break ground. […]
God, Grades, and the Gospel
Peg Rawcliffe looks out at her 6th-grade science class. “Who can tell me Newton’s second law of motion?” she asks. Instantly, hands go up. Students’ answers come faster than she can write. “That’s right, very good,” she says. “It’s easier to change the speed and direction of a lighter object than a heavier one. Very […]
From green space to gathering place
It’s a rare day when citizens approach their government and ask to be taxed. But that’s exactly what the South Wedge Planning Committee is doing. The group has approached Rochester City Council with a petition and a proposal to create a special tax assessment district. The extra revenue from the district — located around […]
Gantt vs. ‘shenanigans’
Democratic State Assemblyman David Gantt has introduced legislation that would redefine the relationship between the city school board and its superintendent, giving the super much more power and authority than the position now has, relative to the board. His bill would also rename the superintendency: The person holding the job would heretofore be known as […]
Doing the math: the middle-school dilemma
When our son, proud alumnus of the Rochester school district, was a high-school senior in 1988, he and his classmates wore a T-shirt created especially for them. Its wording: “They saved the best till last.” The school was Monroe Junior-Senior High School, of which his (we thought) was the last graduating class. The next […]
The march of homophobia
Now hear this. The military does not — I repeat, for those of you daydreaming in the ranks, does not — discriminate against gays and lesbians. I have this on the word of Danny Francis, education specialist with the regional US Army recruiter command, based in Syracuse. Francis says the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” […]






