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SCHENECTADY
Council head lists host of changes
Ousting school board pushed
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    To improve the city, new City Council President Gary McCarthy wants to oust the Schenectady school board and create a new tax system that forces most landlords to pay more than homeowners.
    And when that’s done, he has a whole host of equally wide-reaching plans for the rest of the year.
    McCarthy wasted no time after being sworn in as the council’s new leader Monday. With what appears to be the full backing of the council — all of whom are Democrats, like him — he promised to take swift action to change the most frustrating issues in the city.
    He wants slumlords to sell their property or become responsible landlords. He wants to give young professionals a reason to quit renting and buy a house in Schenectady. And he thinks a shift in the tax burden, coupled with a complete leadership change at the school district, will bring fresh air to the city’s dying neighborhoods.
    As if that’s not enough, he also plans to force the entire council to sit through monthly reviews of 200 decaying houses. He’s hoping the constant attention on the city’s worst homes, combined with the possibility of higher taxes on those properties, will lead to better neighborhoods.
    And if it doesn’t, McCarthy said grimly, the council meetings will just stay long.
    “They’d be long anyway as we deal with them piecemeal,” he said, adding that he knows there’s many more than 200 houses, mostly rentals, that need major repairs.
    “But I had to be realistic,” he said. “If I said 500 a month, we’d have to turn this room into sleep- ing quarters.”
    Of his many promises, the shift in tax burden might draw the greatest interest. It drew the most applause Monday night. But he referred to it only briefly. He focused on changing the school board.
    “Today I do not view the school district as a full partner in our redevelopment,” he said. “We must deal with the reality that homebuyers view city and county services as a secondary consideration. Their first consideration is the school district.”
    The district’s low graduation rate and the loss of what McCarthy termed “academic excellence” has deterred parents from buying in the city, he said.
    He went so far as to call it the single greatest deterrence — larger than crime, deteriorating housing stock or high taxes......................>>>>................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00903&AppName=1

McCarthy might WISH he had any control on the school board ... but he's blowing "feel good" smoke again. He's got no power over them.  Nice try tho.

The whole premise of his plan is to raise taxes and that's just going to force more people and businesses out of Schenectady. If you drive out more of the business tax base the residential tax base has to go up in order to meet budget demands. Gary should sign up for a good economics coarse and learn what drives an economy and it isn't taxes.

Isn't this the same McCarthy that campaigned for last place Linda Bellick? If Linda Bellick is his type of "change" candidate we will pass on his other endorsements.

How is it any of the council's business what the school board does? Legally? Not to mention, the council restricted any public discussion about the schenectady school system at their meetings a year or two ago.

We may not have to wait until May. This just in...major resignation(s) expected at the next "award winning" Schenectady City School Bored Meeting Wednesday night. The wall of silence has been cracked.

Quoted from benny salami

We may not have to wait until May. This just in...major resignation(s) expected at the next "award winning" Schenectady City School Bored Meeting Wednesday night. The wall of silence has been cracked.

So, what were the major resignations? Surely something must be "on the street" by now?

Quoted from 147

So, what were the major resignations? Surely something must be "on the street" by now?

I was thinking the same thing.

Another day - nothing in the Gazette yet?