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Sports Liverpool romps to AA indoor track sectional title ... Page 7
eaglestarreview.com Volume 119, No. 4 Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, 2011
Business
Butkowski
Pathfinder Bank opens new location in Cicero Local community bank opens its doors at 6194
State Route 31 on Jan. 31 led by Robert Butkowski, bank manager.
...See page 3
Community Isabella asphyxiated
Home of Meredith Devennie
liverpool
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Sports
CNS wrestlers advance to Dual Meet semifinal ... Page 7
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By Erin Wisneski and Caitlin Donnelly Governor Andrew Cuomo’s property tax cap proposal could mean trouble for many school districts. In the coming weeks, the governor plans to enter into legislation a cap that would apply to all school districts, as well as local governments. Designed to protect property owners from skyrocketing property taxes, the cap prevents an increase in any district’s tax levy (amount raised through property taxes) above 2 percent or the rate of inflation, which is currently 1.92 percent, said Wayne Bleu, assistant superintendent for management in the North Syracuse Central School District. However, with a 60 percent majority, residents have the ability to override the cap during budget elections.
While this is good news to property owners, district administrators find the solution undesirable. “A 2-percent tax cap, along with cuts in state aid, could be devastating,” said North Syracuse Superintendent Dr. Jerome Melvin. “It would take many years to recover. We can’t have both.” In addition to pension and health insurance costs of district employees, other factors driving up costs are mandates imposed onto school districts by the state. Bleu said there are about 151 mandates imposed by the state that must be paid by the already-crippled school budgets. District expenses such as facilities’ maintenance and union contracts are increased by state mandates. For examples, the Tribourough Agreement requires expired union contracts to remain whether
CHM volleyball completes undefeated season
School district budget breakdown 5%
5% 3% 2%
69% Instructional salaries & fringe benefits 9% Other instruction 7% Operations & maintenance 5% Debt services 5% Transportation 3% Other 2% Board of Education & central administration
7% 9% 69%
Source: State Education Department, Fiscal Analysis and Research Unit
“A 2-percent tax cap, along with cuts in state aid, could be devastating.”
Superintendent Dr. Jerome Melvin.
or not a new agreement has been negotiated, and the Wicks Law forces districts to
editor@eaglestarreview.com
Submitted photo
Chestnut Hill Middle girls volleyball coach Todd Dischinger recently announced that the team recently completed an undefeated season. The team went 100, and had a record of 45-5 in games played. Dischinger said this is the third undefeated team he has had in the 15 years he has coached at CHM. Pictured, in the first row, from left, are Leah Egan, Alicia Pluff, Mikayla Brown, Taylor Aiello, Dallas Merola and Melizabeth Norona. In the second row, from left, are Peyton Bellrose, Megan Sleeth, Kasi Cabrey, Ciara Duck, Sydney Smith and Alessa Main. In the third row, from left, are Simona Cukalevska, Jamie Bugnacki, Dominique LaRose, Lainey Kelley, Natalia Cordeiro, and Adelisa Mujic.
Please see Tax cap, page 5
Liverpool BOE hones in on interactive learning By Caitlin Donnelly
The Liverpool Central School District held their Jan. 24 Board of Education meeting at Wetzel Road Elementary to accommodate the innovative technology presentation made by enthusiastic teachers from the district. During the meeting, Meredith Devennie, first grade teacher at Nate Perry Elementary; Deb Ratcliff, sixth grade teacher at Elmcrest Elementary; Michele Anderson, Math Connections enrichment teacher at Liverpool Middle School; and Maureen Tricas, social studies teacher at the Annex gave an interac-
tive presentation on their use of technology in the classrooms to facilitate learning. Devennie kicked off the presentation with a demonstration of an interactive projector with four volunteers from her class. Next up was Ratcliff, who encouraged members of the board to “volunteer” to answer questions using the Smartboard to demonstrate the ease with which the learning tool can be used for everyday assignments. Anderson followed with other reasons why students—and teachers, alike—enjoy using the Smartboard to engage students and get them interestPlease see Interactive, page 6
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Budget blues Village
residents’ ideas needed at pre-budget session Jan. 31 By Russ Tarby Saddled with a drastically reduced county sales tax allotment, the village of Liverpool is girding for possible budget cuts as it prepares its 20112012 spending plan. Mayor Gary White has called a special pre-budget meeting for 7 p.m. Monday Jan. 31 to alert residents about the seriousness of the situation “I encourage the public to attend this pre-budget session to learn more about how the county’s sales tax decision affects us,” White said. The village’s current budget is $2.7 million, and $550,000 of that came from its share of the 4 percent county sales tax. Last May 4, the Onondaga County Legislature voted unanimously to retain a larger share of the $280 million it collects in sales tax annually. The village’s yearly allotment was slashed by twothirds, to $281,000. The new revenue-sharing agreement will last for a decade. At the Jan. 17 village board meeting White reported that he’d received a letter from Onondaga County Chief Financial Officer James Rowley confirming that Liverpool’s application for its reduced share of sales tax revenue had been received and approved. Last November, mayors Please see Budget, page 13
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County medical examiner determined baby found in Liverpool dumpster was alive after birth and was killed by her mother, Nicole DeJaynes. ...See page 3
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