Lottery says he's a father of three.
Somebody in Liverpool has a $3 million scratch-off lottery ticket.
The lottery said today that a Liverpool father of three won $3 million in the 50X The Money game. The winner will be identified Tuesday morning at the Sunoco station on Buckley Road, where the winner bought his ticket.
The 2013-14 New York State Budget will cut 5 percent from programs that provide free screenings for breast, colon and cervical cancer, Cancer Society spokesman says.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is cutting funding for cancer screenings for the uninsured along with programs to curb teen smoking in a state budget that expands spending to help the Buffalo Bills and Hollywood.
Details of the budget plan struck behind closed doors by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders are starting to surface as lawmakers hammer out details before the April 1 deadline.
And with those details come critics.
"The governor wanted to cut breast cancer screenings and programs to keep kids from smoking and he got them," said Blair Horner of the American Cancer Society.
Cuomo had proposed 10 percent cuts for the programs in the plan presented to the Legislature in January, but the final budget will likely result in 5 percent cuts — saving $3.5 million in a $135 billion budget.
The budget is also expected to cut $90 million for programs to help the developmentally disabled — less than the $120 million cut Cuomo proposed — but chips in $54 million to help renovate Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium. It also has a provision that appears tailored to provide a 30-percent tax break to draw the "Tonight" show back to New York.
"The role of state government is to have spending priorities and protect our most vulnerable citizens in the state budget," said Republican Assemblyman James Tedisco representing Schenectady and Saratoga counties. "Our priority should be looking out for families and people with developmental disabilities in communities .... not giving taxpayer-funded handouts to support the lifestyles of the rich and famous in Beverly Hills."
In an interview on public radio's The Capitol Pressroom, Cuomo said he didn't like the cuts for the disabled, either.
"But I am more the keeper of the economic reality here ... we have a lot of wants. Unfortunately, we cannot meet all our wants. I believe this budget meets our needs," he said.
Cuomo said the cut is forced by the federal government seeking to recover more than $1 billion that New York had overbilled for decades. Cuomo also said he will direct the cuts to come from administration, rather than in programs.
The Senate is scheduled to pass its final budget bills sometime early Wednesday. The Assembly will return to Albany on Thursday to give final legislative approval.
The Cuomo administration also defended some of its other choices Monday.
In return for the $54 million for stadium renovations — Erie County will pay $41 million and the team will chip in $35 million — the state will get a luxury box Cuomo's administration said can be used to promote upstate to employers and the team will stay put for seven years. State officials will be able to use the box only by paying the full cost of a ticket, officials said.
The Cuomo administration also argues any benefit sought by "Tonight" wouldn't cost the state more. It would come from the $420 million film tax credit program to encourage production in New York, which results in hiring and tax revenues. This year the fund was expanded to include TV shows and the state is extending its tax break to the new "Spider-Man" to film in New York City, on Long Island and in Rochester.
The budget includes extending two taxes that were to expire to help pay for $350 checks to most families with children beginning just weeks before Election Day in 2014.
Mayor Stephanie Miner pushed for the agreement with Crouse and Upstate University hospitals.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Two Syracuse hospitals have agreed to reduce what they charge city employees and their insured family members, an agreement that is expected to save the city $600,000 a year, Mayor Stephanie Miner announced today.
Miner said the agreement with Crouse and Upstate University hospitals comes amid her efforts to get tax-exempt institutions to contribute more revenue to the city.
“This is another way we are working with our large nonprofit tax-exempt institutions in Syracuse to identify new ways for them to help us fund vital services,’’ she said in a news release.
The new hospital rates were negotiated by POMCO Group, the company that administers the city’s health care plan. Because the city is self-insured, the cost reductions will directly benefit city finances.
“Our role in this process has simply been to identify each and every avenue available to the city in its efforts to reduce health care costs,’’ said Robert Pomfrey, POMCO’s president and CEO. Officials at both hospitals said they were happy to help the city cut costs, citing their commitment to keeping Syracuse strong.
In a similar vein, Crouse and Syracuse University have responded to Miner’s previous requests for financial help. SU pays the city $500,000 a year, and Crouse $50,000, under voluntary service agreements to help pay for city services. Said Miner: “The old model for financing New York’s cities needs to change.”
Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 315-470-3023.
The Onondaga County Department of Transportation will present plans for a $1.2 million project to repair or replace the Jordan Road bridge over Skaneateles Creek on Tuesday.
Skaneateles, NY –There have been two world wars, a Great Depression, and a couple of moon landings since workers built a bridge on Jordan Road spanning Skaneateles Creek.
The bridge on Jordan Road 1,000 feet south of Stump Road in the town of Skaneateles handles 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles a day, and the old structure isn’t what it used to be.
On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the worst, a state inspector placed the bridge at 4.8, said Onondaga County Transportation Commissioner Brian Donnelly. Anything under a 5 needs to be repaired, he said.
“It’s not unsafe,” Donnelly said. “It has reached the end of its useful life.”
The county has drawn up some initial plans including rehabilitating the existing bridge or replacing it all together. It will present those designs to the community from 6-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Valentine Meyer Post-American Legion, 4572 Jordan Road, Skaneateles Falls.
The 23 foot-long bridge was originally built in 1914 as a concrete arch. The county replaced the bridge deck and widened it in the 1970s, Donnelly said.
The proposed project would widen the bridge, the traffic lanes and shoulders leading to it. It would replace guard rails and the road leading up to the bridge would also be repaved.
The federal government will pick up 80 percent of the cost of the $1.2 million project with the state kicking in 15 percent and the county picking up the remaining 5 percent.
The biggest question is how traffic in the area where Honeywell, Welch Allyn and Clear Edge Filtration have facilities will be impacted if the work is done as scheduled next year.
If work completely shuts down the bridge, trucks would need to make a 5-mile detour, and cars a 2.5-mile detour around the area, Donnelly said.
Neighbors evacuated while dozens of police surrounded home where a DeRuyter couple was found dead Monday in what police believe was a murder-suicide.
DeRuyter, NY -- Jessica Kosturik’s first hint that something was wrong at the home of her next-door neighbors, Michele and Edward Green, came when she got a call at 8:30 Sunday night.
It was the bartender at the Coalyard Tavern down the street in this tiny Madison County town 37 miles southeast of Syracuse. Michele Green had a part-time job cleaning the bar on weekend mornings and had not shown up for work Sunday, the bartender said.
The call started a bizarre night in which Kosturik and her fiancé had to flee their home through a window and spend the rest of the night in, first, a fire station and then a church while dozens of police surrounded the Greens’ home.
Early Monday morning, police entered the Greens’ home at 1599 Seminary St. and found Michele and Edward Green, both 48, dead from an apparent murder-suicide.
Police have released few details about the deaths. But Kosturik’s fiancé, Jason Hodge Sr., said a trooper told him that police believe Edward Green killed his wife on Saturday and then killed himself after police arrived Sunday night.
The couple died in their two-story home directly across the street from DeRuyter Central School, where Michele Green worked full time as a secretary for 19 years. The school, which has 410 students from kindergarten to Grade 12, was closed Monday after officials learned of Michele Green’s death. Classes will be delayed two hours Tuesday and counselors will be available for students and staff.
Kosturik said she has known the Greens well since she began renting her home from Edward Green nine years ago. So when the Coalyard bartender called asking if she had seen Michele, she tried calling her cell phone. There was no answer.
Then she texted her but got no response. So she and Hodge went next door and knocked on the Greens’ door. Again, no response. The lights were out, but the Greens’ dog was inside barking.
Soon, the Greens’ son, Ryan, who also had been unable to reach his parents, arrived at the home. But sensing something was terribly wrong, he called the police instead of trying to break into the home, Kosturik said.
Police arrived about 9:45 p.m., and two troopers entered the house. They didn’t stay long. Hodge said both came running out of the house about 10 seconds after entering it.
“They said, ‘Get down. The suspect has a gun. Clear the area. The suspect has a gun,’” said Hodge.
Police said that when the troopers entered the house, they found Edward Green standing in the kitchen holding a shotgun. The troopers quickly withdrew from the home and, shortly afterward, heard a gunshot, police said.
Hodge said he and Kosturik rushed back into their home, which is just 30 feet from the Greens’ home. Soon, dozens of State Police and Madison County deputies were surrounding the Greens’ home with guns drawn, Hodge said.
Hodge and Kosturik stood in their kitchen, lights out, watching police crawling all over their yard. Then, shortly after midnight, their phone rang again. It was the State Police. They wanted Hodge, Kosturik and her 15-year-old daughter to evacuate the house for their safety.
The three of them crawled out a rear window so they would not be in the line of any potential fire from the Greens’ home, Kosturik said.
Police drove them to the DeRuyter fire station around the corner and told them to stay there with a few other neighbors who also were evacuated from the street.
After a couple of hours, they moved across the street to the St. Lawrence Catholic Church. They stayed there until about 5:30 a.m., when a woman came into the church from the fire station and delivered the bad news.
“She said, ‘It’s not good. They’re both dead,’” said Hodge.
Police said a special operations response team entered the house about 4:30 a.m. and found the couple dead from gunshot wounds.
Hodge and Kosturik returned to their home stunned. Police soon strung yellow crime-scene tape around the Greens’ property as troopers closed off their street to traffic and investigators went in and out of the house the rest of the morning.
“There were police everywhere,” said Hodge.
Kosturik said she and Michele had become good friends over the years.
“She was an incredible woman,” she said. “She would do absolutely anything for anybody, whether she knew you or not.”
She was not as close to Edward Green, who she said worked at a company in Cortland. But she said he was friendly to her.
“I’d be sitting there talking to Michele and he’d come into the kitchen and say, ‘Hi, what’s up, girl?’” she said.
She and Hodge said they heard nothing unusual at the Greens’ home Saturday or during the day Sunday. Hodge said he noticed that someone in the residence let the couple’s dog out of the house around 4 p.m. Sunday. He did not see who it was.
Early Monday afternoon, Hodge and Kosturik joined about 75 other residents of this small community at a prayer service for the Greens at United Church of DeRuyter a few blocks from the Greens’ home. Many, like Kosturik and Hodge, brought flowers.
“It’s for people just to get together and comfort each other,” said Denise Cuddeback, of DeRuyter.
“She was well known here,” she said of Michele Green.
A 6 p.m. candlelight service was also held at the Catholic church, Cuddeback said.
Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148. Follow him on Twitter @RickMoriartyCNY and on Facebook at rick.moriarty.92.
Readers react to story that six out of seven lawyers hired since Mayor Stephanie Miner took office are politically connected.
The hiring practices at Syracuse's Corporation Counsel's office came under examination this weekend on syracuse.com and in The Post-Standard.
Of the seven attorneys hired for City Hall's law office since January 2010, when Mayor Stephanie Miner took office, six are daughters of city employees or Democratic politician.
That's in addition to the hiring of the daughter of Miner's chief of staff to serve as a part-time law clerk and to the hiring of Miner's stepson as outside counsel to represent the city on Destiny USA matters.
Tim Carroll, Miner's director of mayoral initiatives, said the city does not advertise the legal positions but accepts applications on an ongoing basis. Miner has the last word on who gets hired and how long they stay.
Family ties don't prevent the lawyers from doing good work, Carroll said, adding: “The fact is, the new attorneys who have been hired in the law department are credentialed, and are good lawyers,’’
The article drew a lot of comment from syracuse.com readers. Here's a sampling:
From Nancy Keefe Rhodes: First, I thought we wanted to AVOID having our talented young people leave town for greener pastures -- this story practically drives them away with a stick. Will this signal talented local young people that they should go elsewhere if their parents happen to be well-known, or risk having their names, early in their professional lives, associated with insinuations of this type?
Second, just as a critical news reader, ask yourself what's missing from this story. There are some tell-tale signs. (Reporter) Tim Knauss doesn't quote the present corporation counsel at all -- I wonder if she was she even asked to comment? And I don't see any background on these attorneys, except for the one working for $8 an hour (intern wages, mind you). So, what DO their resumes look like? Did any leave a better job and take a pay cut to work in public service? I'd like to know.
Finally, Tim Knauss specifically looks at these hires as Democratic appointments, but CNY politicians frequently enter public service in the second, third and fourth generations, and we should know this happens in a distinctly bipartisan way. Young, Mahoney, DeFrancisco, Romeo, Walsh, Cecile, to name a few -- and just this past week, Carni . . .
As for the notion that women are suddenly getting all the jobs, that would take another letter and I do hope someone will take that on . . .
(Editor's note: Knauss later responded that The Post-Standard has examined the hiring practices of both political parties and that Carroll had been designated to speak for the corporation counsel.)
From MonaBlack Irish: Then why aren't these positions posted for all that are qualified to apply for? If you are the mayor of Syracuse, one would think that she would want the "best" and "brightest" for the city. Instead she chooses from a group of people that are already connected. What a joke. What a disappointment. What a shame.
From memebv: What is the big deal about hiring who you want? Who cares!!!!!!! I'm amazed at what little amount the lawyers make a year working for the city. I think the job market is oversaturated with lawyers, which is why they have been hired by the city . . .
From Cricket: I've complained in the past about The Post-Standard for not looking into this. Now I can eat crow and thank you. Miner can be very vindictive and I applaud your courage to shine light on it.
From allhardt: So what? Don't you think that every single employer considers friends of friends or friends' referrals first to fill jobs?
It is the way of the world. If you were in a position to hire people you would do the same thing. But cut no slack once they began performing on the job. That's the key.
From David Fleming: Every single employer is not paying its employees with taxpayer money. If a business is engaging in this practice you have a choice not to spend your money there. Stephanie Miner is not producing anything, she's not earning the money that she's paying to her friends' relatives . . .
What process do you think government should use for hiring professional staff, such as lawyers? Leave a comment below.
Prosecution initially asked Judge Vanessa Bogan to set the suspect's bail at $50,000.
Syracuse, NY - A town of Onondaga man accused of texting sexually explicit material to an undercover police officer he believed was 14-years-old is due back in Syracuse City Court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.Thomas M. Bell, 58, of 3647 Tanner Road, was arraigned in court last week and had bail set at $5,000 cash or bond. Prosecutors initially asked Judge Vanessa Bogan to set the suspect's bail at $50,000.
He is charged with disseminating indecent material to minors, patronizing a prostitute and endangering the welfare of a child.
Bell sent profane text messages and a picture of his genitals to an undercover officer between March 11 and March 21, according to a felony complaint filed in court. Syracuse police say Bell solicited sex from the officer, who he believed was a 14-year-old girl, and asked her to bring her 6-year-old sister with her for sex. He said he would give the girls money and drugs for the sex, according to police.
Bell then went to an undisclosed location in the city of Syracuse with $100 and a package of marijuana and was subsequently arrested, according to police.
Under the proposed New York budget, manufacturers would see their corporate tax rates drop by 25 percent by 2018.
Syracuse, N.Y. – Manufacturers will see their tax rates drop by 25 percent by 2018 under new policies outlined in the upcoming New York state budget.
Manufacturers pay a 6.5 percent corporate tax rate – which brings the state between $300 million and $400 million each year. Under the changes, the rate would begin to drop next year to 5.9 percent and fall to 4.875 percent in 2018
“We think this is a real positive step in the right direction,” said Randy Wolken, the president of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York.
Qualifying manufacturers would include a business that earns at least half of its income from manufacturing and has at least $1 million in manufacturing-related capital within the state or all of its total capital within the state.
Other tax changes favor businesses that hire teen-aged students at the state’s minimum wage, which will go from $7.25 an hour to $9 an hour in the next three years. The tax breaks are meant to pay back businesses about 15 percent of those wages.
Wolken said he would continue to lobby state lawmakers for a faster repeal of a 2 percent energy tax that affects business and residential ratepayers. That surcharge will continue for the next two years, then phase out by 2018. “It needs to be phased out more quickly,” he said.
Other business groups have been more critical of the $141.2 billion spending plan, which provides rebate checks to some households with children but also keeps a higher income tax rate on millionaires. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the budget later this week.
“To us, this is a budget that goes back to the darker days of Albany,” said Brian Sampson, the executive director of Unshackle Upstate. “Instead of making good tough decisions – they just fund everything and go out and grab more money.”
Contact Teri Weaver at: tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.
David L. Janes was charged following a crash that also led to a drunken driving charge, deputies said.
Granby, NY -- A Colorado man was accused of bringing an illegal handgun into Oswego County following a one-vehicle crash Sunday in Granby, according to sheriff's deputies.
David L. Janes, 26, of Colorado Springs, was charged with two counts of felony criminal possession of a weapon, deputies said. He also faces a driving while intoxicated charge after the car he was driving went off county Route 3 near Cut Off Road.
Janes is accused of having an illegal 22 caliber semi-automatic handgun, which he allegedly threw into the woods before the DWI arrest, deputies said.
Janes was arraigned in Granby and sent to the Oswego County jail with bail set at $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond, deputies said.
The bill, if passed by the state assembly, would bump the crime of killing or injuring a police animal from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Rome, NY -- The state senate has passed a bill co-sponsored by Senator James Seward that would toughen punishment for people who kill or injure police animals.
The bill increases the penalty for killing or injuring a police animal from a misdemeanor to a felony. The legislation now goes to the state assembly for consideration.
There has been renewed interest in the bill following the shooting death of FBI police dog Ape during a raid on a barricaded gunman blamed for the deaths of four people in Herkimer County earlier this month, said Seward, R-Oneonta.
"I call Ape the 'Hero of Herkimer' for his courageous sacrifice and feel he, and all police animals, deserve our respect and gratitude," Seward said in a news release. "Ape gave his life to protect others and that kind of bravery should be honored."
Gunman Kurt Myers is believed to have killed four people the morning of March 13 before holing up in an abandoned building in the village of Herkimer. After a lengthy standoff -- in which a police robot was unable to locate Myers -- Ape accompanied officers into the building.
Myers shot and killed Ape while firing at the group. Officers returned fire and killed Myers. Ape was mortally wounded and died after last-minute attempts at rescue by a veterinarian at the scene.
"There is one detail that is clear – we owe a great debt of gratitude to the police and others who responded to the multiple scenes, put their lives on the line, and sacrificed to protect us all and that includes K-9 officer Ape,” Seward concluded.
Ape, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, received a memorial service and burial near the FBI training center in Quantico, Va. The Czech German Shepard had been on duty less than a month.
Syracuse district wins $31.5 million in state grants, more than any other district.
Syracuse -- Teachers in seven struggling schools in Syracuse will have until April 11 to decide if they want to apply to stay at their schools next fall or transfer to another one.
It’s all part of a huge reshuffling of school principals and staffs that will take place across the district over the next two months. The state and federal governments are requiring the moves because the schools are in the bottom 5 percent of schools statewide in test scores.
That wrenching process was eased substantially today when each of the seven schools was awarded $4.5 million to use over the next three years to turn themselves around.
In all, the Syracuse district pulled in $31.5 million in competitive grants from the state today to fix their failing schools – far more than any other district in the state.
Much of the money will go to teachers, who will get stipends of $6,000 each to work at their schools an hour and half longer each day. Teachers will also get additional pay for undergoing 10 days of training in the summer.
Five of the schools -- Porter Elementary, the Westside Academy at Blodgett, Bellevue Elementary, Frazer K-8 School and Seymour Dual Language Academy -- are huddled on the city's West Side. The two others are Van Duyn Elementary in the Valley and Danforth Middle School on the South Side.
Under a turnaround model mandated by state and federal officials, Porter, Van Duyn, Bellevue, Frazer and Seymour will be required to replace their veteran principals and transfer at least half their staffs to other schools in the district. The Westside Academy and Danforth will only have to replace their principals -- unless the principals have served for only a year or so.
The schools are grouped in what the district calls the "innovation zone," and things at the schools will certainly be different.
Children will stay an hour longer each day for extra instruction. Then teachers will stay for another half-hour for planning and training. Each school will have two instructional coaches. Teachers will have a say on a Turnaround School Team in each school that will help make decisions about the schools.
The schools will work on improving instruction with outside experts including The Achievement Network, a Massachusetts-based consultant; the Rochester Institute of Technology; and the National Center for Time & Learning, also based in Massachusetts.
Laura Kelley, the district's chief academic officer, said today that she expects the work to start bringing dramatic results within three years.
“The innovation zone is our first step in turning the entire district around," she said. "We’re starting with these first seven schools.”
Kevin Ahern, president of the Syracuse Teachers Association, which provided input for the grant applications, said he is pleased that the district won the grants. He said they will allow teachers to work more extensively with children and to get the planning time they need to be effective.
But he repeated his opposition to the mass transfers -- a policy dictated by state and federal education officials, not the district.
"I would never, ever support the arbitrary movement of teachers to other schools in the district," he said.
Teachers can opt out of the struggling schools, and they can opt in by applying to them. Whatever they decide, they'll have to go through an interview process to try to get the jobs they want. Teachers may be transferred involuntarily, but no teachers will be forced to leave the district.
All seven schools will work with English language arts and math textbooks and lesson plans from the international education giant Pearson. The materials are free to the schools through a pilot program it is participating in with the company. But the district will have paid Pearson some $2 million last year and this year for other things, including training and materials in other schools.
Pearson is the company that is supplying New York with its third- through eighth-grade standardized tests this year.
Kelley said she expects all of the staffing at the seven schools to be complete by the end of May. Staffing in the other schools across the district should be in place by the end of June, she said.
Syracuse's $31.5 million grant is nearly 40 percent of the $81 million awarded by the state today in federal School Improvement Grants. Five other districts received grants, including Buffalo with $22.5 million, Yonkers with $13.5 million, Rochester and Poughkeepsie with $4.5 million each and Troy with $4.3 million.
Contact Paul Riede at priede@syracuse.com or 470-3260. Follow him on Twitter at @PaulRiede.
As Obama pushes Congress on the issue, the young CEO partners with other tech executives to support immigration overhaul.
Sources revealed Monday that Mark Zuckerberg is partnering with other executives to form an "issues advocacy organization" with a focus on immigration reform. This marks a new direction for the young executive who has kept some distance from politics in the past.
According to Politico, the new group is drawing on a group of bi-partisan consultants to support reform including a path to citizenship for undocumented people living in the U.S.
U.S. News reports that the group has already taken some criticism for bringing on consultants with some hard right views such as Republican strategist Jon Lerner, who started the Club for Growth. But others see this as a move to garner more support from Congress.
The group is motivated by the prospect of hiring overseas talent for tech firms. The Telegraph reports that earlier this month Zuckerberg and other tech industry executives wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to do something about the strict migration controls preventing access to foreign graduates.
The move to establish the group is timely. President Obama urged Congress on Monday to get moving on immigration reform. Overhaul plans are expected to come from both the Senate and the House sometime in April, according to USA Today.
But the move into politics for Zuckerberg could lead to more than just a strong financial backing for immigration reform. Forbes contributor Greg Satell speculates that Zuckerberg and his new organization might look into supporting research and science education at some point in the future, pointing out that they are areas as critical to the tech industry as immigration.
What do you think about Zuckerberg's move into the political arena? Leave your comments below.
Monday the Westhill School Board listened to the public's suggestions on ways to cut $1 million from its proposed 2013-14 budget. The board must approve a preliminary budget at its next meeting on April 12. Voters will have their say on May 21.
Geddes, NY --Several parents told the Westhill School Board Monday that they're willing to pay higher taxes to make up a $1 million budget shortfall that threatens to cut staff and programs.
No one on the board wants cuts, but there appears to be little choice to make up a $1 million shortfall in the proposed budget, board President Doreen Bronchetti told about 200 people at the meeting at Westhill High School.
“We regret making any reductions, but we know we must make them,” Bronchetti said.
Superintendent Casey Barduhn has proposed a $35.7 million budget for 2013-14, an increase of 5.8 percent over the current spending plan.
To balance the proposed budget, the district would need a tax hike of 4 percent, $1.4 million in district savings, and $1 million in cuts.
“Tonight we share with you the struggle we have with the budget,” Bronchetti said.
For two hours, the board listened as about audience members spoke passionately about the items they want the budget to retain: teachers, aides, modified sports and programs.
Board members will consider the public's input before passing a preliminary budget at its next meeting on April 12. That budget will go to the voters on May 21.
Five full-time teaching positions, five part-time teaching positions, 6.5 teaching assistant positions, and eight support staff would be cut under the proposed budget. The district is also considering cutting, or eliminating modified sports.
Cutting staff means class sizes would rise at the elementary level, with third grade classes going up the most from about 19 students to 24. The district would cut 6th grade health, 7th grade foreign language and have BOCES take over one of its special education programs.
Several parents told the board that they could have moved into any district, but they chose Westhill for its reputation.
“I’m willing to pay higher taxes to make sure my children receive an education. It’s a no brainer,” said Andrew Hunter, of Geddes, who has three children who attend schools in the district.
Paying for education “is a trust from generation to generation,” he said.
Brochetti reminded Hunter and others in favor of tax hikes that the board represents everyone in the district, including the majority who don’t have children in school. Not everyone can afford to pay more taxes, she said.
Westhill High senior Jake Centore, 17, of Geddes, suggested the board spread cuts in positions around so that no one person’s hours are cut so deeply that they become ineligible for health insurance.
“I think a lot of people can’t afford to pay more,” he said. “I think it’s important for them (the school board) to look at things they can cut, but not teachers.”
Centore was one of several students, teachers and parents who met last week with an aide to state Sen. John DeFrancisco, D-Syracuse, in an effort to lobby the state for more money. Parents and students sent 556 letters to the governor and state legislators last week urging them to grant more state aid to the district.
The Westhill School District Education Association, which represents the district’s teachers and nurses, has asked the district to consider offering a retirement incentive. The retirees could take the place of staff singled out for a layoff, and if new teachers were hired as replacements they would earn less saving the district money, said union President Greg McCrea.
The district has already cut money from the sports program, professional development, supplies and health insurance, Barduhn said. It buys cooperatively with other districts.
It is also considering cutting: some high school bus service; the newsletter, district calendar and other publications and go paperless instead; and classroom supplies. It is also may rent its sports fields.
What are your observations about the ratings of CNY four-year schools?
College ratings have become a niche industry. Each year presents more categories, more lists, and more reviewing companies all trying to cash in on the need for students and parents to "make the right choice".
The Wall Street Journal has jumped into the game with a number-crunching rating system that examines college choice from a scrupulous consumer/investment perspective.
Examining four-year private and public schools and universities, it looks at four-year median borrowing figures, student loan default rates, average starting salary for graduates, average mid-career salary (10 years of experience), and return on investment. It has a scatter-graph so you can see which schools are outliers in each category, and a worksheet to help assess financial aid offers.
Return on investment is based on the cost of attending college and the estimated gain in pay over a high school graduate over 30 years.
Not all private schools nor all State University of New York schools are compared. LeMoyne College and SUNY Cortland are not in the rating tool.
But most four-year central New York schools are. A quick survey of SUNY Oswego, Syracuse University, Cornell University, Colgate University and Hamilton College yielded these results, the lowest and highest noted within this five-school sample:
Median debt: Lowest, Cornell, $12,000; Highest, Syracuse University, $24,300
Highest default rate: SUNY Oswego, 7.6 percent
Four year graduation rate: Lowest, Oswego, 38%; Highest, Colgate, 88%
Cost per year: Lowest, Oswego, $21,551; Highest, Cornell, $59,561
Starting salary: Lowest, Oswego, $35,500; Highest, Cornell, $54,800
Mid-career salary: Lowest, Oswego, $69,900; Highest, Colgate, $111,000
Return on investment: Lowest, Oswego, 5.4%; Highest, Cornell, 9.6%
Contact Dave Tobin at 470-3277 or dtobin@syracuse.com or via Twitter: @dttobin
Al Stirpe says he's only human; some temporary taxes have a way of becoming permanent
Good morning! The state Senate plans to return to session this afternoon and then a minute after midnight (after a long afternoon nap, we hope) to take up budget bills. The Assembly meets Thursday. The budget deadline is Monday.
The budget
That $350 check your legislators will be sending families the next three years? The first one should arrive just before Election Day 2014. One critic calls it "a public finance program only for incumbents." The Empire Center calls the tax credit "complicated and questionable."
The American Lung Association blasted the budget for program cuts. The American Cancer Society criticized cuts in funding for screening programs.
"Temporary tax" may be an alliteration, but is it also an oxymoron? At least one temporary tax has been in place for 30 years.
Tax rates for manufacturers would fall by 25 percent over the next five years. It's a good step, a local manufacturing group says.
Beyond the budget
Assembly Al Stirpe explains again why he dropped the F-bomb when meeting with gun rights advocates recently: "You know, I'm only human."
An Assembly committee will look into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's deal to get a 12-seat luxury box at the Buffalo Bills stadium.
New York's attorney general predicts the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The court hears arguments today and Wednesday.
State lawmakers who rushed through the gun control act in January are now planning to delay one of the law's central elements: outlawing magazines with more than seven rounds.
The state Senate voted to make the killing of a police dog a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
A federal audit found that New York's Medicaid program for mentally ill children and teens violated regulations and improperly spent $27.5 million.
Tweet of the Day
@nygovcuomo, if the rebates are supposed to help the economy, why wait 19 months to send them out? #nybudgetpolhudson.lohudblogs.com/2013/03/25/by-…
— Kieran Michael Lalor (@KieranLalor) March 25, 2013
Also: Student protests in Chicago over school closings
A look at education news around the region, state and nation:
Syracuse schools get a $31.5 million competitive grant to turn around seven struggling schools over the next three years. It’s more than any other New York district received.
DeRuyter coping with death of school secretary in apparent murder-suicide.
Some Westhill parents say they’d pay more taxes to maintain school programs.
Deal in Albany could break standoff over teacher evaluations in New York City.
A struggling school in Troy wins $4.25 million in the state’s grant competition, and plans a longer school day, increased staff preparation and school uniforms.
Bullying pressures Bronx 15-year-old to skip two months of school.
Trouble starts early for kids who fall behind in math.
In Chicago, students protest plans for dozens of school closings.
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie wants to take over the failing Camden school district.
Contact Paul Riede at priede@syracuse.com or 470-3260. Follow him on Twitter at @PaulRiede.
In business: Bank of America will close its mortgage servicing operations in Getzville in Western New York in a move that will result in the loss of about 500 jobs.
A look at business news around New York today:
Rochester-based Wegmans Food Markets is close to a deal to open its first Boston store in what could be the beginning of a battle with Whole Foods Market Inc. for supermarket supremacy in the city. (The Boston Globe)
Not much has happened with it lately, but the owners of the former CharlesTown complex in Utica still hope to turn the vacant site into a retail and residential development. (Utica Observer-Dispatch)
Bank of America Corp. announced Monday it will close its mortgage servicing operations in the Western New York hamlet of Getzville this spring and transfer its lease at CrossPoint Business Park to M&T Bank Corp., a move that will result in the loss of approximately 500 jobs. (Buffalo Business First)
American Douglas Metals plans to move its aluminum and steel processing operations from Tonawanda to a much bigger site in Buffalo. (The Buffalo News)
Economic developers in New York have rebuffed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's attempt to gain veto power over how they award some tax breaks to businesses. (The Business Review)
Many moms feed babies solids too soon because they believe it will help them sleep at night.
A quick look at today's health news
Syracuse, N.Y. -- About 40 percent of babies are being fed solid food like cereal before they are 4 months old, much earlier than experts recommend, according to a new study.
Mothers who gave babies formula were twice as likely as those who exclusively breast-fed to start solids too early, according to the the study in the April issue of Pediatrics, released online.
Researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed the data from about 1,300 mothers who introduced solid food to their infants during the first year and reported the reasons for introducing solid food.
Common reasons for introducing solid food earlier than recommended included: “My baby was old enough,” “My baby seemed hungry” and “It would help my baby sleep longer at night.” Many of the mothers said their health care provider gave them the go-ahead.
Early introduction of solid foods is concerning because babies’ bodies are not yet prepared for these foods, and early introduction may increase the risk of some chronic diseases, such as childhood obesity, celiac disease, diabetes and eczema. It can also mean that the many benefits of breastfeeding are cut short.
Caregiver of disabled sues state: A New York State-employed caregiver for people with developmental disabilities sued the state Monday, accusing it of retaliating against him for whistle-blowing. The employee, Jeffrey Monsour, has brought to light a number of questionable practices by the state, as varied as routinely falsifying fire drills and turning a blind eye toward abuse of those in the state’s system of care for people with developmental disabilities. (New York Times)
High-deductible plans becoming the norm: An increasing number of large employers are offering their employees only one health insurance option: a plan with a relatively high deductible linked to a savings account for medical expenses. These plans are designed to save employers money and reduce health care costs. But they also expose employees to much higher out-of-pocket costs. (Kaiser Health News)
Temporary tattoos can be harmful: Temporary tattoos that stay on the skin anywhere from three days to several weeks can cause health problems such as redness, blisters, raised red weeping lesions, loss of pigmentation, increased sensitivity to sunlight and even permanent scarring. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
You can reach health writer James T. Mulder at jmulder@syracuse.com or 470-2245
Richard N. Johns declined to say why he was on leave. Human resources officials said he is on sick leave.
Update: Liverpool's Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Timothy Manning confirms that Superintendent Richard N. Johns is out on sick leave.
Liverpool, NY -- Liverpool Central School District Superintendent Richard N. Johns is out on leave.
Johns, who was reached on his cell phone Monday, said he is out indefinitely, but declined to talk about the reason behind his leave.
The Board of Education voted March 18 to make Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Katherine Phillips the superintendent's designee for Johns when he is not available. Johns was not at the March 18 meeting and it is unclear how long he has been out.
Phillips could not be reached for comment.
Johns will leave the district on July 31. The board of education voted in November to begin the process to name a new superintendent, but Johns and the board have refused to comment on Johns' departure.
The board of education selected the educational consultant firm of Castallo & Silky to assist with the search. The board anticipates interviewing superintendent candidates in mid-April and announcing a new superintendent in June.
Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@syracuse.com or 470-2298. Follow @SarahMoses315
Martin Griswold was charged with felony murder in connection with the homicide of Darrell Mobley on March 11.
Syracuse, NY -- Martin Griswold was charged Tuesday morning in the March 10 homicide of Darrell Mobley Jr.
Griswold was arraigned in Syracuse City Court by Judge Jim Cecile and was charged with felony murder. He pleaded not guilty. He was denied bail.
Mobley Jr., 20, of Syracuse, was shot and killed outside the Parkside Commons apartment complex at 1811 E. Fayette St. at 10:30 p.m. March 10, Syracuse police said. Police found Mobley on the sidewalk.
According to court papers, Mobley was shot twice in the head and face. Griswold is accused of shooting a handgun at Mobley four to five times. Mobley was standing on the sidewalk in front of 1811 E. Fayette when he was shot.
Mobley came under fire on the same block of East Fayette Street in 2010, according to a Post-Standard story. In that incident, Mobley and his brother, Tymauri, then 17, were fired at after leaving an apartment at 1809 E. Fayette St. A bullet stuck Tymauri Mobley in the upper right abdomen and he subsequently underwent surgery at Upstate.
Syracuse police are holding a news conference later this morning. Check back here for updates.
