The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

School News

BCS Watching The Grass Grow

By

by Thaddeus Flint
Residents in the Berlin School District might notice this month that their abandoned schools in Stephentown and Grafton are looking, well, a bit more abandoned. The quick assumption might be that someone isn’t doing their job or that there is no money to mow the lawns at those buildings. Those assumptions, however, are far too simplistic for BCS, where just getting a lawn mowed is done by committee, or in the case of the Berlin School Board at the monthly meeting May 22, not done at all.
[Read more…] about BCS Watching The Grass Grow

Time Capsule Openings

By

The Berlin Central School District will open the time capsules at the Grafton Elementary School and the Stephentown Elementary School. The items in the time capsules will be turned over to the Historical Societies of the two towns.
Everyone is welcome to attend these events and share your memories of the schools.
The Stephentown Elementary School time capsule opening will be on Saturday, June 8, at 10 am. The Grafton Elementary School time capsule opening will be on Saturday, June 22, at 10 am.

The Last Pizza Night

By

On Friday, June 7, the Class of 2014 will host a pizza night. As always you can order a hot fresh pizza for just $8 with sauce or without. Toppings cost $1 each. You can choose pepperoni, sausage, ham, mushroom, onion, black olives, jalapenos, green pepper, pineapple and broccoli. You can order pizzas online before 2:30 pm on Friday by emailing Karen Day at kday@berlincentral.org or by calling 658-2515 ext 209 after 3 pm on Friday. Starting in September you can look forward to the Class of 2014 hosting a monthly pizza night as they work to raise money for their senior year expenses.

Next HFCS PTA Meeting

By

The last business meeting of the HFCS PTA for the current school year will take place on Thursday, June 6, in the Elementary School Library beginning at 6 pm.
As always, members and non-members are encouraged to join meetings to find out what the PTA is doing for our children and to share ideas for special programs and events to benefit the children and families of our School District.
If you’d like to become a member or to learn more about PTA and its programs, please attend this meeting or contact Membership Chair Paula Kamperman at 518-686-5344.

HFCS Prom On A Beautiful Day

By

by Steve and Stephany Bradley
Last Saturday, on a gorgeous spring afternoon, students from Hoosick Falls Central School gathered in groups in backyards all around town. It was Junior Prom night. The students were dressed like no other evening of the year.  The girls were beautiful in gowns of every color, and the boys were dapper in their gown-matching tuxedoes and vests. Mothers fussed with their daughter’s hair and flowers. Mothers fussed with their son’s hair and handkerchief squares. Fathers proudly watched from the sidelines, some in mild shock as their little girl suddenly looked like a woman. Hundreds of pictures were snapped, at least 20 of every imaginable pose. So many cameras were directed at the kids they didn’t know which way to look. Everyone enjoyed every minute of it.
[Read more…] about HFCS Prom On A Beautiful Day

HFCS Budget And Board Vote

By

by Alex Brooks
The voters of the Hoosick Falls School District approved the proposed budget by a vote of 370 – 174. The Bus Proposition passed by a vote of 387 to 156.
Don Skott was re-elected to the Board of Education with 412 votes. Rick Ferrannini was re-elected with 437 votes, and Rachel Boisvert was elected to the Board of Education with 361 votes.
Superintendent Ken Facin said he, the Board and the administration are grateful to the community for their support. “We are elated with the vote, and we look forward to another year of moving our school forward,” he concluded.

Berlin Central School Budget And Board Vote

By

by Thaddeus Flint
The Berlin Central School District has adopted a $17,861,948 budget for the 2013-2014 school year with 314 voting for and 130 against. The tax levy will now increase 1.95% to fund the budget which will be $423,000 more than that of the current school year.
A vote on the purchase of a 66 passenger bus which would cost not more than $140,000 also passed without difficulty – 306 residents were for the proposition and 128 against.
Three new School Board members, each of whom have already served on the Berlin School Board in previous years, will return to their seats which they must have missed so very much.
As the three current Board members at the end of their terms, John Nash, Bev Stewart and Alan Webster Jr., chose not to run again, there was little point in casting votes for the new candidates, but most voters chose to do so anyway.
Elizabeth Miller from Berlin received 342 votes, Rachel Finney from Stephentown came in second with 331 and Jeffrey Paine from Grafton rounded out the pack with 310.

New Lebanon Central School Budget And Board Vote

By

by Thaddeus Flint
The New Lebanon Central School District budget easily passed Tuesday, with 231 votes in favor of and 53 against.
The $12,440,790 budget for the 2013-14 school year comes with zero percent increase in the tax levy.
A proposition to renovate the District’s bus garage also passed with 202 votes for the $1.2 million project and 75 against it.
School Board Vice President Raymond Sowalski, who championed the demolition of the historic Union Free School building, failed in his bid for re-election. Sowalski received 121 votes, while Martha Esposito received 175 votes. Tim Lambert and Sharon Putnam each took in 172 votes. Alexis McDonald received 97 votes. Esposito and Putnam will be new to the Board, Lambert served from 2008 to 2011.
Current Board Members, JoAnn Gavrity and David Kroboth, did not run for re-election.