http://www.rotterdamny.net/ http://www.eblah.com en http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1282733655/ http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1282733655/#num1 ROTTERDAM
District OKs tax rate figures
Many residents’ bills to increase
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Rotterdam and Colonie homeowners in the Mohonasen school district will see a increase in taxes, while Guilderland residents will have lower bills under the final tax rates the Board of Education has approved.
    The school tax rate for Rotterdam has been set at $15.19 per $1,000 of assessed property value — an increase of roughly 25 cents. Owners of an average home assessed at $100,000 would pay about $25 more in taxes, for a total bill of $1,519. For Colonie residents, the tax rate increases 99 cents to $22.67 per $1,000 and the tax bill for owners of a $100,000 home would see their bill increase $99 to $2,267.
    For Guilderland, the new rate is $17.86 and residents of a similarly valued home would see their tax bill drop roughly $15 to $1,786.
    This is before any STAR exemptions.
    Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Swezey said the reason for the differing rates is the different assessments in each of the three communities.
    “Because property values are going down, the equalization rate is going up, which is something we haven’t seen in a number of years. That shifts the amount of tax levy that each community has to pay,” she said.
    Rotterdam is assessed at full value, whereas Guilderland’s equalization rate increased from 79 percent to 85 percent and Colonie’s rate went from about 66 percent to 67 percent. This meant that Rotterdam residents are paying a greater share of the total taxes.
    Voters in May approved a $42.7 million budget by a vote of 1,323 to 881 that increased the tax levy by about 2.3 percent. The spending plan eliminated 17 full-time-equivalent positions to offset a state aid cut of about $1.9 million.
    The district appropriated an additional $500,000 of fund balance to reduce the tax levy, Swezey said. ...............................>>>>.................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01103&AppName=1]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:54:15 Admin http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1277376746/ http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1277376746/#num1

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ROTTERDAM
District ponders options now that it has OK for land purchase
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Mohonasen school officials are refining their options for the district’s next building project now that voters last month approved purchasing adjacent land for expansion.
    Architects from CSArch presented to the Board of Education some updated plans for renovations of Bradt Primary School, Pinewood Intermediate School, Draper Middle School and Mohonasen High School and construction of a new transportation facility.
    Residents in May voted to purchase land adjacent to the high school and middle school campus owned by the O’Hare and Lindenman families at a price of $1.425 million. Mohonasen gets a rate of 90 percent reimbursement from the state and would get that for this land project if it is tied to this capital project.
    Among some of the details the board is still mulling is the nature of the fitness addition to Draper and the size of the transportation facility.
    Architect Ron Bagoly presented three different options for the fi tness center at Draper, varying in cost. Option one would construct a nearly 4,000-square-foot addition off the back of the girls’ locker room to house the fitness room and renovate storage space.
    However, one drawback of this plan is that this space would not be eligible to receive aid reimbursement from the state.
    The second option would be to renovate the girls’ locker room and put the fitness center at the end. A classroom that is used for special education would be displaced and moved to the music and art wing.
    The third option would be to leave the locker room where it is and renovate an existing classroom to make that the fi tness room.
    The total price tag for the middle school portion of the project would be $17.6 million for option one, $18.2 million for option two and $17.4 million for option three. ...................>>>>>................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01602&AppName=1

]]> Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:52:26 Admin http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1275997716/ http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1275997716/#num1

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ROTTERDAM
Board resolves teacher contract issues
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    The Mohonasen Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a new teachers’ contract, settling a nearly two-year dispute.
    Superintendent Kathleen Spring said the new fi ve-year agreement contains an average of about 2.8 percent raises per year, including the step increases.
    In addition, the Mohonasen Teachers Association agreed to pay more in co-pays for doctors’ visits and drugs, and the union gave back some professional development days. This year, they had agreed to give back two days to save two positions.
    The union, which has more than 300 members including teachers, teachers assistants, counselors and nurses, had been working under the terms of a three-year agreement that expired on June 30, 2008. Teachers are not getting retroactive pay.
    Among the sticking points were pay and benefits and the work schedule. The district gave up its request to have the elementary teachers work a longer day. District officials had wanted to extend the day by 40 minutes to provide new after-school programs.
    Union President Sue Nelson said the extra time would have been to allow teachers to have meetings and for students to receive extra help. However, Nelson said teachers like the flexibility of the current format. “We can provide those things so it fits into our schedule,” she said. Instead, the union agreed to give up “rotation time,” which is a half a day every month the teachers can spend out of the classroom to do planning. “It’s about 2 /2 hours a month back with kids,” Spring said.
    The superintendent said she believed that additional instructional time is needed with the increased expectations that students face and the more demanding curriculum.
    “The more time teachers can spend with students, the more prepared we can help them be,” she said. ...........................>>>>..................>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00704&AppName=1

]]> Tue, 8 Jun 2010 06:48:36 Admin http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1275220061/ http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1275220061/#num1 REUNION TICKETS
    ROTTERDAM — Tickets are on sale for the Schalmont Alumni Reunion party for all graduates from Schalmont High School (21 and older). The reunion will be held on Saturday, June 5 at Maple Ski Ridge. The cost is $10 for advance tickets or $20 at the gate. Tickets can be purchased at Casa di Vino Spirits, Altamont Avenue, Price Chopper Plaza or Roman Villa Restaurant. All proceeds will be donated for a scholarship to a graduating senior at Schalmont High School.
    For more information visit http://www. SchalmontReunion.myevent.com or call (716) 523-7673. ]]> Sun, 30 May 2010 06:47:41 Admin http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1274957995/ http://www.rotterdamny.net/m-1274957995/#num1

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ROTTERDAM
Bragle teaches elementary music, heart and soul
    Editor’s Note: This is part of a regular series of notable teachers from around the Capital Region.
BY MICHAEL GOOT
Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

   Being a music teacher is in Kathleen Bragle’s genes.
    Her mother was a teacher of everything from kindergarten to grade 12 and her father was a history teacher, in addition to being a violist. Music and history blended to create the teacher Bragle is today: she has students sing rap songs about the presidents and states.
    She wants to have a meaningful impact on students’ lives. “Get to know them in a unique way that perhaps a classroom teacher doesn’t,” she said.
    Bragle looked around her spacious music room, which was formerly part of Jefferson Elementary School’s cafeteria before a building renovation in 2003. She said it has the best acoustics in the school.
    “I like this room to be a peaceful place for them — a place where they can create something beautiful, a place where they can relax, but also a place charged with creative energy.”
    Bragle grew up in Westchester County and did her undergraduate work at the College of Saint Rose. She was at the University of Illinois pursuing a master’s in musicology — the history of music — with the hope of teaching at the college level.
    “I walked across the street to music ed building and fell in love,” she said.
    She started her career in Albany in 1970 for two years and after some time off to raise children came to the Schalmont district in 1976. She has been exclusively at Jefferson since 1982.
    Bragle said the students are largely the same, despite being busier and pulled in so many different directions.
    “I find them to be very respectful, very kind and very loving.”
START YOUNG
    Bragle said she particularly enjoys teaching kindergartners because they are precious and untouched by the world. This year, she was teaching them twice a week because the district expanded to full-day kindergarten. “They are the joy of my life. They are the reason I am not retiring,” she said. “These guys have really wrapped themselves around my heart a few times.” .................>>>>.......................>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01400&AppName=1

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