By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer Saturday, May 17, 2008
DUANESBURG - What officials thought was a toxic chemical spill caused a massive police and fire response and the closure of Cole Road for several hours on Saturday.
A passerby in rural Duanesburg noticed fluid coming out of a train traveling the Canadian Pacific Railway line at 11:20 a.m. Saturday, and called police. Hours later, William VanHoesen, director of emergency management for Schenectady County, told reporters that several emergency responders were investigating the leak of several gallons of the dangerous herbicide sodium hydroxide in a scarcely-populated valley. But the investigation later revealed that no spill occurred, State Troopers in Duanesburg said. On the scene were members of several area fire departments, the State Police, Schenectady County Sheriff's Department and state Department of Environmental Conservation officers.
Proposed 2008-09 budget: $14.9 million Change from 2007-08: Up 6.2 percent Highlights: Implementation of full-day kindergarten. Creation of career-focused classes in journalism, health and law at high school. Creation of full-time Spanish teacher at elementary school. Elimination of four full-time, three part-time teachers' aides. Tax impact: Up 4 percent Proposition: Purchase of three buses for $229,494. School board seats: John C. Iseman and Paul B. Munson III unopposed for 3-year seats. Voting: 1 to 9 p.m. at Duanesburg Elementary School, 165 Chadwick Road.
DELANSON — The Duanesburg Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. today in Bishop Scully Hall. Barbara Delaney and Russell Dunn will talk about waterfalls and industrial power. All are welcome to attend.
Creation of career-focused classes in journalism, health and law at high school.
Once again, the Daily Gazette fails at investigative reporting and publishes only what they are told by the establishment. There is no mention that the School Board has eliminated funding for the New Visions (BOCES) program for students interested in careers in journalism, health, and law. Rather than supporting this existing and successful program where students interact and shadow professionals in these industries, the district plans to ask teachers to support the creation of such a program at the high school. So, now that the program will be offered at the high school, tell me who will teach the medical and law programs?
DUANESBURG Town to help fund corps Action follows changes at DVAC BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Members of the Town Board tossed a financial life line to the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corps, allowing the organization to stave off insolvency as it works through reorganization. Board members unanimously agreed to provide the company with $10,000 per month over the next three months, provided the ambulance corps provides the town with a detailed accounting. The resolution passed during a special board meeting Wednesday also outlines negotiations for a monthly payment to the company for the remainder of the year, provided it continues to show improvement after July. Supervisor Rene Merrihew said the funding is a response to the recent strides the company has taken to correct its problems. Last week, the company’s board of directors declared 13 members inactive, including the former captain many had faulted for some of the company’s problems. The abrupt expulsion was followed by an influx of nearly two dozen new volunteers. Since the company’s membership shake-up last week, she said the duty roster submitted to the town had improved to cover roughly half of the 28 available shifts. “I think as this goes on, it will get better,” she said. But Tammy Nunez, a former volunteer and board member, questioned whether the shake-up had improved the situation. As evidence, she pointed to a hazardous material response in the town last weekend when the ambulance corps didn’t have a crew available. “We at least had people on every weekend,” she said about the former staffing. The board’s action Wednesday followed a short presentation by Terry Hannigan, an Albany attorney hired by the town last month to work out a solution with the ambulance corps. In his report, Hannigan praised the company for already instituting many of his suggestions, such as appointing new officers and removing two of its four ambulances from the road. “It’s actually progress I didn’t quite envision when I crafted this report,” he said. Hannigan also suggested the company appoint an operations manager and invigorate its bylaws. He recommended the company limit the terms of its medical officers and seek community support. Hannigan said the limited funding provided by the town will give the company a fighting chance at survival. He said a 60- to 90-day window of funding will allow the ambulance corps a “fair but accelerated” chance at stability. “You have a real gem here and it would be a shame to see it go to waste,” he said. Volunteer shortages and personnel discord left the ambulance corps with a skeleton crew in January. The lack of members led to very slow response times and missed calls. In February, Duanesburg officials informed state police dispatchers in Princetown to stop calling the ambulance corps for emergencies until it could produce a schedule of when volunteers were available. They later amended this request to give the corps three minutes to be en route to an emergency before dispatchers would call crews from Rotterdam or Schenectady. Town officials had budgeted $50,000 for the service this year, in addition to $20,000 in an escrow account to reimburse the corps for new medical equipment. But with the ambulance corps’ ongoing difficulties, the town decided to withhold this funding. Board member Martin White said withholding the funds will likely cost both the ambulance corps and town alike. He said the town will likely need to reimburse the Rotterdam Emergency Medical Service for its mutual aid while Duanesburg was inactive.
It’s time to start helping Duanesburg and stop with the negativity in our community. Let’s all give the new Duanesburg ambulance a chance to get its act together and start helping our community. It’s a new beginning, and we have to remember that our community needs us! Let’s all work together and try to keep an open mind. This is an all-volunteer agency. Anyone in our area who would like to participate and help with the rebuilding and get rid of the negative attitudes, please come to our next board meeting on June 3 at 6 p.m. MARY GRIMM Delanson The writer is the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ treasurer and a board member.
DUANESBURG District facing tough decisions After budget defeat, spending will have to be trimmed BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Superintendent Christine Crowley isn’t exactly sure why Duanesburg voters shot down the district’s 2008-09 budget proposal this week. Some may have balked at its proposed 3.98 percent increase to the tax rate, while others may have objected to the inclusion of a fullday kindergarten or the exclusion of the high school’s New Visions program. But district officials will have no way of knowing, since they decided against conducting an exit poll. “We were trying to save money,” Crowley said Thursday. Residents rejected the district’s $14.8 million spending proposal 312-316. The budget was the only one defeated among Schenectady County districts this year and the first rejected by Duanesburg voters since 2000. Members of the Board of Education will decide between submitting a revised budget for another vote next month or accepting contingency-level spending, which would require them to trim roughly $191,000 from the original proposal. Board members could also put the original budget back to the voters, although Crowley doubted they would. “The community has spoken, and they don’t want to accept this budget,” she said. The board is expected to discuss their options during a special meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the high school community room. If they decide to put a revised budget up for a vote and it is again rejected, the district would automatically adopt a contingency budget. Crowley said contingency spending would devastate the district’s ability to serve students. She said the district would have no choice but to cut programs. “There will be nothing here for the kids other than the basics,” she said. “In a small district like this, almost $200,000 is huge for us.” The defeated budget isn’t expected to overturn the district’s decision to merge its three half-day kindergarten classes into a full-day session. Crowley said the full-day session will actually result in savings for the district due to the level of aid offered by the state. “If we took [the full-day kindergarten] out, we would have to raise taxes,” she said. The district is slated to receive about $245,000 in aid during the first year of the program, in addition to saving roughly $13,240 in transportation costs. Crowley said the full-day session will also use an existing teacher, meaning the program won’t create any new positions. Conversely, the budget defeat isn’t expected to restore New Visions, a popular program through the Capital District BOCES; it allowed a select group of students to gain workplace experience in journalism, law and health professions. The district trimmed the program after witnessing a spike in BOCES program enrollment, which cost the district about $150,000 more this year in tuition fees. Both students and parents strongly criticized the district for trimming New Visions. The district responded by offering an in-house program that would essentially create a New Visions at the Duanesburg campus. Crowley said New Visions couldn’t be restored unless other programs were discontinued. She said the district is already facing some difficult decisions even without considering the program. “It’s a no-win situation,” she said. “As hard as the board tries to minimize the damage from cuts, there are always people upset.”
... Both students and parents strongly criticized the district for trimming New Visions. The district responded by offering an in-house program that would essentially create a New Visions at the Duanesburg campus. ...
Interesting...
This is the first that I have heard of the program being offered. There were statements made that a program would be established. But, again, we have heard nothing about what was developed in house. My daughter is one who was approved to participate in the New Visions program, only to have the program cut from the budget.
I would like to learn about this new in-house program and the identities and credentials of those educators who will teach medicine, law, and journalism. How does the cost of the in-house program compare with that of the New Visions program?
DUANESBURG District to offer voters pared-down school budget BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Duanesburg Central School District officials will offer voters a pared-down 2008-09 budget next month in an effort to avoid the cuts that would be mandated under a contingency spending plan. Members of the district's Board of Education decided to send the budget back to voters after trimming $51,000. Superintendent Christine Crowley said the board was hesitant to make the cuts, but felt they were necessary after the proposed budget failed last week. "Obviously, if they had their choice, they wouldn't make any cuts," she said, following an emergency school board meeting Tuesday. Crowley said the cuts dropped the proposed tax rate increase from 3.98 percent to 3.2 percent. The district will conduct a budget hearing in the high school multipurpose room at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Residents rejected the district's $14.8 million spending proposal 312-316. The budget was the only one defeated among Schenectady County districts this year and the first rejected by Duanesburg voters since 2000. District officials suggested several reasons for the budget's failure. Some may have balked at its proposed tax rate, while others may have objected to the inclusion of a full-day kindergarten or the exclusion of the high school's New Visions program. The largest cut came from a $15,000 reduction in the district's field trip budget. Board members also reduced a middle school guidance counselor position from full-time to part-time, shaving $14,000. Also trimmed were 13 club advisor positions, which resulted in an $11,000 savings. Teachers conference allotments were also reduced by $4,200. Board members trimmed one of two late-afternoon buses for a savings of $3,200; travel for sports team scrimmages was also cut by $2,000. The cuts were rounded out by the elimination of the boy's volleyball coach position, which lowered the budget by $1,600. Crowley said the position was an unfilled line-item included in the spending plan. "It's not anything that anyone wanted to cut," she said. If the budget fails a second time, the district will be forced to accept contingency spending, which Crowley said would devastate the district's programs. Under this plan, the board would be compelled to trim $140,000 from the budget, in addition to the $51,000 worth of cuts outlined this week. "Hopefully, this will pass," she said.
My wife and I were pleased to read that the Duanesburg school budget was rejected. In the past we have been nothing less than pleased with the education and values that our children learn at the Duanesburg school. Superintendent Christine Crowley’s comments don’t capture the real reason that the budget was rejected. She blames “ongoing concerns about the economy.” I can say for a fact that this is indeed not the reason. I, for one, would gladly accept a tax increase in order to give my kids the kind of education that Duanesburg offers. The reason it was rejected was because my wife and I, along with our neighbors (four votes), voted against it strictly based on the proposal for all-day kindergarten. Many argue that all-day kindergarten allows two-income families to remain two-income families. Why do families need two incomes? So they can afford to put gas in their cars to go earn that extra income? What will they do when we are paying $8 to $10 per gallon? Perhaps we will be voting on a proposal for half-day high school so our teenagers can to go to work. Allday kindergarten is yet another enabler for the continued exploitation of this nation’s working poor. Meanwhile, the rich get richer and the poor work harder. Having a twoincome family is not a good reason for all-day kindergarten. Historically, kindergarten has provided a good transition period for our children to get used to the idea of school. I would urge the parents of Duanesburg, or anywhere, to put their children’s needs first. If a second income is needed, consider other options for day care and reject any school budget proposal that includes full-day kindergarten. JOSEPH ENGEL Delanson
Residents of Duanesburg trailer park may get another reprieve Friday, May 30, 2008 By Justin Mason (Contact) Gazette Reporter
DUANESBURG — State officials are finalizing a 45-day reprieve for the Hillcrest Commons Mobile Home Park that would give a prospective buyer until July 15 to complete an engineering study for remedying problems with the sanitary sewer system. Rick Georgeson, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said the agency has been in contact with park owner Morgan Management and is aware of a possible sale of the 42-year-old park. He said the buyer will still need to provide a plan and demonstrate the financial ability to fix the park's sanitary sewer system before the DEC grants a longer extension. "We're renegotiating the consent order for an extension to give the owners and prospective owners some time to complete their study," Georgeson said. "We want to give every opportunity for these individuals to stay in their homes." The extension was the second granted by the DEC since the agency ordered the park to cease discharging from its failed wastewater treatment system into the nearby Normans Kill last fall. The agency issued a 60-day extension in February, around the same time rumors circulated that Morgan Management was marketing the property to someone willing to fix its sanitary sewer system. Park manager Richard Dickershaid said the attitude among residents has markedly improved since the initial shock of the DEC order. Although the order initially prompted some residents to leave, he said a far greater number have decided to remain in the park in the hope that a solution could be worked out.
DUANESBURG Residents blast board on cuts Loss of New Visions program panned BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Residents continued to voice strong opposition Tuesday to the Duanesburg Board of Education’s decision to cut the New Visions program from the school district’s 2008-2009 budget proposal. Some speaking at the budget hearing said they voted against the budget because they felt it was cutting valuable programs in favor of funding less effective choices. Several residents criticized the district’s decision to include Spanish language teaching at the elementary school level while cutting off funding for New Visions, a program through the Capital District BOCES that allowed a select group of students to gain workplace experience in journalism, law and health. “That’s what we’re saying,” said Darlene Pettit. “We didn’t like your changes.” Kara Durante, one of a dozen students accepted into New Visions before it was cut, told the board she was left without an option without the program, because the district doesn’t offer classes with an emphasis on medicine. She said the students had academically earned the right to participate in New Visions, instead of the study hall sessions they will likely face in its absence. “Twelve of us wanted to go above and beyond four study halls a day,” she said. Others argued against reducing the Middle School guidance counselor position to part-time, shaving $14,000 from the new budget proposal. Some argued the district had erred in creating a full-time teacher’s position in the elementary school instead of keeping the guidance counselor. Last month, board members unanimously supported a decision to send the budget back to voters after trimming $51,000. The cuts dropped the proposed tax rate increase from 3.98 percent to 3.2 percent. Among their cuts, board members substantially reduced the district’s field trip budget, trimmed 13 club adviser positions, and lowered teacher conference allotments. They also trimmed one of two late-afternoon buses, travel for sports team scrimmages and eliminated an unfilled boy’s volleyball coach position. Board members didn’t consider a restoration of New Visions because the cost of out-of-district programs were already $150,000 over budget. Board Vice President James Breitenstein said the public had plenty of opportunity to protest the change during the initial budget discussions six months ago. “We started talking about the budget in January,” he said. “What should we do in February, March and April to get people involved?” More than three dozen residents turned out Tuesday, when district officials outlined the details of the new budget proposal. The budget hearing was conducted at 9 p.m. and after more than an hour of student presentations. Residents rejected the district’s initial $14.8 million spending proposal 312-316. The budget was the only one defeated among Schenectady County districts this year and the first rejected by Duanesburg voters since 2000. If the budget fails a second time, the district will be forced to accept contingency spending, which would trim $140,000, in addition to the cuts already outlined. School officials have contended these cuts would devastate the district. The budget will go back before voters on June 17. President Raymond Hawes said the board decided to make further cuts rather than gamble with sending the same budget to the public. “Because if you take that gamble and lose, you lose all of the money,” he said.
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