A $53M tale of 2 districts Albany and Schenectady public schools are similar in many ways, except when it comes to spending By SCOTT WALDMAN Staff writer Published 12:30 a.m., Monday, May 23, 2011
They are remarkably similar school systems.
Albany and Schenectady each have a large population of poor students. Just more than half their freshmen end up graduating from high school. The Education Department has declared the high school in each district is among the state's worst and needs to be completely reorganized. Each district is home to about 10,500 public school students.
But there is one area in which the districts significantly part ways: their budgets. It is a massive spending gap of $53 million.
In the 2011-12 school year, the Schenectady school budget will be $153.6 million. In Albany, it will be $206.5 million.
The spending chasm cannot be explained by the number of employees. Schenectady employs 1,700 and spends $109 million on staff; in Albany, the district spends $120 million for a workforce of just 1,450. The divide is partially explained by how much those employees are compensated. The average teacher salary in Albany is $73,619, compared with $63,279 in Schenectady.
The Albany district provides significantly more programming for its children, particularly in the hours before and after school, said Albany superintendent Ray Colucciello, who retired as Schenectady superintendent in 2000.
"We go early in the morning to late at night for these kids,"
Well obviously throwing all the $$$ in the world does not a smart or well child make. If families were still families it would make all the difference in the world but the liberals saw to that and got rid of the "family" as we know it. An outmoded concept that does not fit the leftist view of social progress. Now we have "government" i.e. the "village."
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
"We go early in the morning to late at night for these kids,"
What a joke! Late night in Albany is now 3pm? The two worst districts in the area in a race to the bottom. Albany has charter schools but the District refused to close excess schools and fire unneeded administrators/teachers. Schenectady has done two things right. Reject school budgets in 2 straight years which sent a needed message. Hundreds of voters voted NO! this year because there was no needed tax cut. The new Superintendent John Y is a great numbers cruncher and deserves credit for redoing the horrible mess he was handed. Too bad he won't stay around for more than one more year.
The new Superintendent John Y is a great numbers cruncher and deserves credit for redoing the horrible mess he was handed. Too bad he won't stay around for more than one more year.
Logged
What a joke! Late night in Albany is now 3pm? The two worst districts in the area in a race to the bottom. Albany has charter schools but the District refused to close excess schools and fire unneeded administrators/teachers. Schenectady has done two things right. Reject school budgets in 2 straight years which sent a needed message. Hundreds of voters voted NO! this year because there was no needed tax cut. The new Superintendent John Y is a great numbers cruncher and deserves credit for redoing the horrible mess he was handed. Too bad he won't stay around for more than one more year. 
