One of the State corrective options is a charter school, one is replacing 50% of the High School staff but the pathetic SCSD bored won't do either of those. They will continue to push failed magnet schools, waste millions busing children every which way, millions on alleged Deans and failed academies, refuse to move the 9th grade back to middle school and slam the taxpayers next Spring for another huge tax increase because of fiscal mismanagement.

     It's a tragedy-for the students stuck there, for the parents with no charter school option who cannot afford a private/Catholic school and for the taxpayer who can't afford these liberals and can't sell their property because of the crushing tax burden. There was a State Comptroller's audit last year that found horrible fiscal problems-especially with time cards-that no one followed up on. No one was fired. No one was held accountable.

But Benny I do think it is a bit unfair to put all the blame on the teachers here.

I really think the issues are more about the decline of the core family and quality parenting.

If you do not read to children and engage their minds at a very young age - in the 2-3 year old range...  The child will have learning difficulties all their life - and there is nothing at all even the best teachers can do about it.

Public School Districts are required by law to provide transportation and other financial resources to
charter schools within their district.    Every property owner in the city pays school taxes and a PART of that
school tax goes to fund the charter schools.  Funds that could be going to improve our public schools or funds
that could be given back to the property owners in the form of tax cuts.
THAT is how the charter schools drain OUR tax dollars from OUR public schools   --- and remember .. taxpayers do NOT get to vote for the board of directors of the charter schools nor do taxpayers get to vote on the charter school's budget.

So my argument is NOT a red herring ... it is a very pertinent argument ... because it explains why city school
districts across the state are being squeezed financially and losing resources that they could use to improve
their programs .. and it is the reason that city school tax rates are higher than suburban school districts.

You can't blame the failing of a High School because there are Charter schools. If you remeber, Schenectady did have quite a few, very successful Charter schools (one in Bellevue for example) a little over five years ago. The Stupidintendant at the time didn't want to share the school funds with the charter schools, so he closed them down. Now Schenectady students are transported to Albany (a close to $2 million dollar expense).

Schenectady used to have to successful High Schools. That is the plan that should be revisited. There are too many kids in the High School and it's simply not working. Graph, charts, surveys aside, the Schenectady High School is in dire need of assistance.  

Troy schools are not on this failing list.......

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

10 worst school districts in the state of New York ... and Schenectady is NOT on the list:

Look at him, just grasping at straws to try to make people think Schenectady is in a renaissance, it's a miracle city.   Yeah, right.  

Quoted from JackBauer

We're 619 out of 640.

We are in the bottom 4%.

Most of us would consider that indefensible.

Edit:  Although to be completely fair.  I believe that it is next to impossible to make up for the poor parenting that I think we see in today's inner-city families.

You nailed it on the head there.  

lalllaaalalalalalalalallaaaaa its all good lalalalalalaaaa  a la la la laa everything is nice. you are nice, we are nice, the mayor is nice. Paul Tonko is nice. How nice. The league of women voters is nice. How nice lalalalalaaaaa. We are pleased with the progress of the renaissance...


lalalalaaaalaaaalaalalalaaaaaaa

Quoted from rachel72

You can't blame the failing of a High School because there are Charter schools. If you remeber, Schenectady did have quite a few, very successful Charter schools (one in Bellevue for example) a little over five years ago. The Stupidintendant at the time didn't want to share the school funds with the charter schools, so he closed them down. Now Schenectady students are transported to Albany (a close to $2 million dollar expense).

Schenectady used to have to successful High Schools. That is the plan that should be revisited. There are too many kids in the High School and it's simply not working. Graph, charts, surveys aside, the Schenectady High School is in dire need of assistance.  

Troy schools are not on this failing list.......

Much of the  funding for the Charter Schools comes directly from the public school districts that the students
come from ---- so if 70% of the students at a charter school in the city of Schenectady come from the city ..
70% of the funding for the charter school is COMING FROM the Schenectady City School District either
directly or in the form of state aid redirected from Schenectady CSD to the charter school.
When you take financial resources away from the city school district you are negatively impacting the
quality of education that the city school district can provide  
AND .. in my mind .. more importantly ..  the property owners in the school district have NO SAY over who
serves on the charter school's board nor on the budget of the charter school.

The existence of charter schools is only PART of the problem .. but it IS a part of the problem.

Interestingly enough, each district needs to allow a choice for students. Because Schenectady no longer operates charter schools, it is mandated to ship all those students to the Albany charter school (again a $2 million dollar expense). Charter schools can require uniforms, stricter discipline and ultimately need to show that within 5 years of operation, that the students are academically sound.

If Schenectady added a Charter High School (uniforms, better discipline, proof of academic success), maybe the students of the district would have a better opportunity to graduate...our tax money stays in the district and we cut down on transportation.

Right what liberals like DVR fail to grasp is that the lack of a Charter IN THIS COUNTY means that the SCSD has to pay to transport students to one of the Albany schools. That costs City taxpayers over $2 million. If Charters are so bad why is President Obama pushing them?

What "right-wing totalitarians" like Benny Salami and MikeChristine fail to recognize is that not every
Democrat is a liberal or a socialist  AND  ......
that charter schools are DRAINING tax dollars from public schools and the property owners have NO
representation .. or in this case .. no right to vote for the charter school's board or the charter school's
budget.    Benny Salami and MikeChristine are being hypocritical ..they claim to be the sole defenders
of the US Constitution and American values  but then IGNORE the FACT that the way charter schools are
set up is a form of "taxation without representation"

I have NEVER liked the concept of charter schools because they have NO accountability to the taxpayers
and because they take tax dollars away from our public schools which need it to improve.  I have seen
nothing in the past couple of decades to change my mind on the subject.  

Personally, a Charter High School in Schenectady just might work. The private high school that was going to open a few years ago was gaining a ton of support (don't know what happened there?!). A school where uniforms are mandatory, where proof of academic stability is required by the State and where strict discipline is a cornerstone is needed in the City. Charter schools are run by a non-profit organization. Anyone who would want to join that non-profit could do so.

One of the distractions and major problems in the high school is the lack of discipline. Lockdowns are weekly events and the environment is toxic. To sit back and not do anything about the high school would be a disgrace. At least one more high school is needed.  

Charter Schools have a HUGE accountability to the taxpayer...the students have to actually succeed!!! Right now, my tax money is supporting a failing high school where half the students can't even graduate in four years. Right now, the schools are failing the taxpayers and the students.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

What "right-wing totalitarians" like Benny Salami and MikeChristine fail to recognize is that not every
Democrat is a liberal or a socialist  AND  ......
that charter schools are DRAINING tax dollars from public schools  

ROFLMAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHO is the hypocrite???????????????????

DV, How about all those tax dollars going to millionaires downtown for PRIVATE business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    Huh??????????    Well???????????    Tax dollars being taken away from poor people, giving it to the rich.   You are totally in favor of jacking up the taxes of the residential homeowners to exempt the rich millionaires downtown from paying any property taxes at all.   But you would deny parents the ability to choose school for their children!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

Deny parents a choice, but your rich buddies downtown, they can afford to send their children to prestigious private schools at $20,0000 a year in order to avoid Schenectady schools.  Heck, tell us, DV,  With a total household income of $30,000, and mostly less than that, tell us DV, COME ON I DEFY YOU TO TELL US, how can parents afford even to go to a religious affiliated school????????   Considering YOU want people to pay their own property and school taxes AND the property and school tax bills of millionaire Mallozzi's, that multi-million dollar Hampton Inn, the multimillion dollar for profit hairdo school, the for-profit theater, and the wealthy Proctors, and and Bombers (Bombers who gets a check every year from the city---a handout from the taxpayers, these are just a FEW.


So tell us DV, when people making $30,000 are living in the midst of gun fire, paying taxes for the millionaires downtown, paying $5,000 a year in property & school taxes. then, HOW, tell us HOW, tell us, DV, tell us HOW can parents of two kids send their kids to another school???????   Even Bishop Gibbons is some $6,000 per child, so, tell us DV, tell us HOW can parents of two teens afford $12,000 in tuiltion plus $5,000 in property taxes and then YOU WANT TO TELL THEM THEY ARE DENIED ANY CHOICE WHATSOEVER to choose their childrens' education !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

DV, in YOUR mind it's government schools only (unless you are rich).  Then you want taxpayer funded downtown.

Talk about being a socialist.

Bet you would prefer eliminating Ellis hospital and build a government hospital too.

How many children does DV have?  Where do they go to school?