Schools set out to plan proms, graduations despite uncertainty over rules | The Daily Gazette
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School districts are starting to outline plans for proms and graduation ceremonies this spring, even as they call on state officials to offer school-specific guidelines to work from.
Dozens of superintendents across the region on Wednesday sent a joint letter to state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker asking for new guidelines that specifically address end-of-year school events like proms and graduation ceremonies.
“While schools are eager to commemorate milestone events and help students celebrate in a safe manner, we will not jeopardize our students’ or the public’s health in doing so,” the superintendents wrote in a joint letter from the Capital Region and Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES districts. “Guidance that directly addresses these events is critical.”
School districts eye tax cap overrides; Johnstown, Fonda-Fultonville, Scotia-Glenville indicate intent | The Daily Gazette
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A handful of Capital Region school districts are considering asking local voters to override tax caps when school budgets go up for approval in May.
At least three area school districts Johnstown, Fonda-Fultonville and Scotia-Glenville indicated an intent to go above their local tax cap in an annual March filing with the state Comptroller’s Office. Also, Niskayuna school board members at a recent meeting expressed support for going above their limit if needed to spare layoffs.
The districts all face a different budget situation, and divergent local tax caps, but if they decide to propose budgets that raise levies about those limits, they will need the support of 60 percent of district voters.
Districts to employ mixed approaches to snow days | The Daily Gazette
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CAPITAL REGION Many students across the Capital Region can bank on at least some snow days this winter, but a handful of districts plan to still hold virtual school days when the weather forces buildings closed.
With the first major snowstorm of the season expected overnight Wednesday into the Thursday morning commute, districts will have the first chance to test out their pandemic-era snow day procedures. The State Education Department this year is allowing districts to teach remotely in lieu of what would have been a snow day in past years.