Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas last night presented board members with a rough outline of his budget plan for the 2013 to 2014 school year. And it’s going to be another financially tough year for the district. For starters, the board approved a $705 million budget for the current year, but the district has operated […]
Superintendent Bolgen Vargas
Posted inNews & Opinion
Public needs to weigh in on Vargas’s schools modernization plan
There has been almost no serious public reaction to Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s proposal for the second phase of modernizing city schools. Vargas has held several public meetings to present the plan, which calls for closing five schools and spending about $625 million on modernizing buildings over the next 10 years. The school board […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas’s grand plan for the RCSD
Rochester school district Superintendent Bolgen Vargas rarely talks about increasing the district’s graduation rate or raising test scores, the standard promises of most new superintendents. From his first days in office as interim superintendent, Vargas has instead approached the district’s many problems from the outside in: unabashedly declaring that nothing will get fixed if the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Allure for neighborhood schools
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas wheeled out some charts, at a meeting this morning, to help explain his proposal for modernizing city schools. His plan for the next phase of the more than $1 billion remake of the district’s buildings recommends closing five schools. In a relatively short period of time, Vargas has become deft […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas proposes $625 million second phase of schools upgrades
Superintendent Bolgen Vargas has recommended closing five schools: 16, 22, 25, 36, and 37.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas makes no promises
After nearly a year-and-a-half leading Rochester’s schools, Superintendent Bolgen Vargas has yet to set the usual benchmarks. He’s instead downplayed expectations and has not promised to raise graduation rates. This is a different superintendent from his predecessors. For instance, Vargas hardly reacts to whatever the latest report says about Rochester’s low student achievement. But he […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Focus needed on black and Latino males
The Rochester school board frequently finds itself at odds with public opinion over how much supervision superintendents need. Too much, and board members are accused of meddling and micromanaging. Too little, and the public directs its anger at the board when things go wrong. Board member Van White says he is not willing to err […]
