Latest news with #MassenaCentralSchool
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voters in Northern New York approve over $1 billion in school spending, elect board members -- full results here
May 20—WATERTOWN — All school district budgets in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties were approved by voters Tuesday. Voters also approved a $79.8 million capital project for Massena Central School and a $70.5 million project at Indian River Central School. Voting results reported as of late Tuesday include: JEFFERSON COUNTY Alexandria Budget $17,101,403 Yes 195 No 22 Proposition to buy two gas buses Yes 195 No 21 Nicole Langridge (177) and Eric Heath (192) elected to board Belleville Henderson Budget $13,253,283 Yes 286 No 155 Library proposition Yes 322 No 119 John M. Gleason (374) elected to five-year board seat Carthage Budget $77,511,700 Yes 288 No 82 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 282 No 87 Library proposition Yes 282 No 86 Robert Sligar (271) and Sean McHale (256) elected to three-year board seats General Brown Budget $30,272,783 Yes 379 No 101 Library proposition Yes 372 No 93 Tiffany Orcesi (233) and Michelle Peckham (310) elected to three-year board seats Indian River Budget $107,220,000 Yes 262 No 34 Capital improvement project $70,500,000 Yes 258 No 34 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 266 No 28 Library proposition Yes 257 No 38 Lori Tuttle (197), Kathy Hutchinson (184) and Jennifer Bleam (219) elected to board seats LaFargeville Budget $12,806,741 Yes 69 No 3 Matthew Duffany (60) elected to five-year board seat Lyme Budget $9,561,594 Yes 183 No 48 Proposition to purchase one gas bus Yes 188 No 43 Library proposition Yes 183 No 48 Cassandra Shuler (116) elected to five-year board seat Sackets Harbor Budget $10,675,885 Yes 212 No 43 Bus proposition Yes 218 No 33 Travis Downey (130) elected to five-year board seat South Jefferson Budget $44,006,306 Yes 339 No 88 Proposition to purchase six buses Yes 337 No 90 Library proposition Yes 316 No 112 Elizabeth Reed (283), Erin Gaffney (294) and Ellen Moculski (344) elected to board seats Thousand Islands Budget $23,099,995 Yes 283 No 43 Library proposition Yes 272 No 57 LeAnn Hill (289), Bruce Mason (289) and Jennifer Bach (279) elected to board seats Watertown Budget $103,909,155 Yes 574 No 282 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 663 No 186 Proposition to establish furniture reserve fund Yes 632 No 214 Security proposition Yes 689 No 162 Melanie Stano (305) and Culley Gosier (512) elected to three-year board seats LEWIS COUNTY Beaver River Budget $23,255,669 Yes 285 No 146 Ian Gilbert (332) and Jamie Zehr (318) elected to three-year board seats Copenhagen Budget $12,679,726 Yes 60 No 6 Gabrielle Thompson (65) elected to five-year board seat Proposition to provide Head Start transportation Yes 60 No 6 Harrisville Budget $11,531,744 Yes 211 No 60 Proposition to purchase two buses Yes 215 No 57 Brian Schrodt (109) elected to five-year board seat Lowville Budget $31,425,533 Yes 352 No 81 Proposition to purchase three buses Yes 349 No 85 Proposition for Head Start transportation Yes 394 No 38 Joseph Lawrence (242), Benjamen Manning (237) and Bethany Munn (379) elected to board seats South Lewis Budget $31,837,132 Yes 213 No 61 Patrick D'Ambrosi (167) and Richard Venturi (175) elected to school board seats ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY Brasher Falls Budget $31,711,501 Yes 185 No 20 Bus proposition Yes 179 No 26 Sarah Ashley (159) and Seth Belt (153) for board seat Canton Budget $42.03 million Yes 313 No 97 Proposition to purchase three buses and a van Yes 320 No 96 Library proposition Yes 323 No 35 Rob Larrabee (349), Denise Sero (330) and Susan Toshack (329) elected to board seats Clifton Fine Budget $12,099,420 Yes 153 No 50 Proposition to purchase to EV buses Yes 103 No 109 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 152 No 62 Judy Benzel, Nicole Curry and Parker Perrault elected to three-year board seats Colton Pierrepont Budget $14,025,310 N/A Proposition to establish capital reserve fund N/A Karen Peck elected to four-year board seat Edwards-Knox Budget $18,663,253 Yes 126 No 39 Proposition to purchase two diesel buses Yes 144 No 21 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 125 No 38 Jennifer Benson-Baxter (100) elected to five-year board seat Gouverneur Budget $47,840,977 Yes 218 No 76 William Cartwright (235), Tina French (224) and Lisa McGregor (179) elected to three=year board seats Hammond Budget $10,267,964 Yes 58 No 51 Proposition to purchase one diesel bus Yes 66 No 43 Library proposition Yes 78 No 30 Heuvelton Budget $19,207,526 Yes 85 No 38 Brent Phillips (98) and Amy Perkins (82) elected to board seats Herman-DeKalb Budget $14,561,880 N/A Proposition to establish capital reserve fund N/A Proposition to purchase two buses N/A Lisbon Budget $18,341,298 Yes 166 No 74 Proposition to purchase two diesel buses Yes 173 No 67 Nancy Fox (181) elected to five-year board seat Madrid-Waddington Budget $21,500,940 Yes 142 No 14 Bus proposition Yes 146 No 8 Capital outlay proposition Yes 145 No 9 Ryan Hayes and Christopher Pryce elected to five-year board seats Proposition to purchase one bus and one van Massena Budget $74,402,939 Yes 461 No 145 Capital project $79.8 million Yes 429 No 159 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 469 No 131 Robert LaBlanc (322), Bruce Beckstead (382) and Timothy Hayes (452) elected to board seats Morristown Budget $11,742,305 Yes 125 No 34 Library proposition Yes 127 No 42 Joshua Hunter (149), Kristy Simmons (128) and Lawrence Kring (138) elected to three-year board terms Norwood-Norfolk Budget $30,280,541 Yes 205 No 43 Proposition to purchase three buses Yes 213 No 33 Katherine LaVigne (169), Kimberly Smith (154), Mary Ellen Todd (189) and Susan Mackey (143) elected to board seats Ogdensburg Budget $56,092,979 Yes 279 No 175 Library proposition Yes 232 No 219 Connor Sutton (396) and Elizabeth Testani (387) elected to five-year board seats Parishville-Hopkinton Budget $13,585,904 Yes 168 No 53 Cassie Hayes (113) and Bonnie Marston (103) elected to school board seats Potsdam Budget $43,229,127 Yes 413 No 74 Bus proposition Yes 417 No 68 Ralph Fuller (268), Rachel Wallace (315)and (Sara) Rivka Eckert (214) elected to board seats
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voters across region approve school budgets, elect board members
May 20—WATERTOWN — All school district budgets in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties were approved by voters Tuesday. Voters also approved a $79.8 million capital project for Massena Central School and a $70.5 million project at Indian River Central School. Voting results reported as of late Tuesday include: JEFFERSON COUNTY Alexandria Budget $17,101,403 Yes 195 No 22 Proposition to buy two gas buses Yes 195 No 21 Nicole Langridge (177) and Eric Heath (192) elected to board Belleville Henderson Budget $13,253,283 Yes 286 No 155 Library proposition Yes 322 No 119 John M. Gleason (374) elected to five-year board seat Carthage Budget $77,511,700 Yes 288 No 82 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 282 No 87 Library proposition Yes 282 No 86 Robert Sligar (271) and Sean McHale (256) elected to three-year board seats General Brown Budget $30,272,783 Yes 379 No 101 Library proposition Yes 372 No 93 Tiffany Orcesi (233) and Michelle Peckham (310) elected to three-year board seats Indian River Budget $107,220,000 Yes 262 No 34 Capital improvement project $70,500,000 Yes 258 No 34 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 266 No 28 Library proposition Yes 257 No 38 Lori Tuttle (197), Kathy Hutchinson (184) and Jennifer Bleam (219) elected to board seats LaFargeville Budget $12,806,741 Yes 69 No 3 Matthew Duffany (60) elected to five-year board seat Lyme Budget $9,561,594 Yes 183 No 48 Proposition to purchase one gas bus Yes 188 No 43 Library proposition Yes 183 No 48 Cassandra Shuler (116) elected to five-year board seat Sackets Harbor Budget $10,675,885 Yes 212 No 43 Bus proposition Yes 218 No 33 Travis Downey (130) elected to five-year board seat South Jefferson Budget $44,006,306 Yes 339 No 88 Proposition to purchase six buses Yes 337 No 90 Library proposition Yes 316 No 112 Elizabeth Reed (283), Erin Gaffney (294) and Ellen Moculski (344) elected to board seats Thousand Islands Budget $23,099,995 Yes 283 No 43 Library proposition Yes 272 No 57 LeAnn Hill (289), Bruce Mason (289) and Jennifer Bach (279) elected to board seats Watertown Budget $103,909,155 Yes 574 No 282 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 663 No 186 Proposition to establish furniture reserve fund Yes 632 No 214 Security proposition Yes 689 No 162 Melanie Stano (305) and Culley Gosier (512) elected to three-year board seats LEWIS COUNTY Beaver River Budget $23,255,669 Yes 285 No 146 Ian Gilbert (332) and Jamie Zehr (318) elected to three-year board seats Copenhagen Budget $12,679,726 Yes 60 No 6 Gabrielle Thompson (65) elected to five-year board seat Proposition to provide Head Start transportation Yes 60 No 6 Harrisville Budget $11,531,744 Yes 211 No 60 Proposition to purchase two buses Yes 215 No 57 Brian Schrodt (109) elected to five-year board seat Lowville Budget $31,425,533 Yes 352 No 81 Proposition to purchase three buses Yes 349 No 85 Proposition for Head Start transportation Yes 394 No 38 Joseph Lawrence (242), Benjamen Manning (237) and Bethany Munn (379) elected to board seats South Lewis Budget $31,837,132 Yes 213 No 61 Patrick D'Ambrosi (167) and Richard Venturi (175) elected to school board seats ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY Brasher Falls Budget $31,711,501 Yes 185 No 20 Bus proposition Yes 179 No 26 Sarah Ashley (159) and Seth Belt (153) for board seat Canton Budget $42.03 million Yes 313 No 97 Proposition to purchase three buses and a van Yes 320 No 96 Library proposition Yes 323 No 35 Rob Larrabee (349), Denise Sero (330) and Susan Toshack (329) elected to board seats Clifton Fine Budget $12,099,420 Yes 153 No 50 Proposition to purchase to EV buses Yes 103 No 109 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 152 No 62 Judy Benzel, Nicole Curry and Parker Perrault elected to three-year board seats Colton Pierrepont Budget $14,025,310 N/A Proposition to establish capital reserve fund N/A Karen Peck elected to four-year board seat Edwards-Knox Budget $18,663,253 Yes 126 No 39 Proposition to purchase two diesel buses Yes 144 No 21 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 125 No 38 Jennifer Benson-Baxter (100) elected to five-year board seat Gouverneur Budget $47,840,977 Yes 218 No 76 William Cartwright (235), Tina French (224) and Lisa McGregor (179) elected to three=year board seats Hammond Budget $10,267,964 Yes 58 No 51 Proposition to purchase one diesel bus Yes 66 No 43 Library proposition Yes 78 No 30 Heuvelton Budget $19,207,526 Yes 85 No 38 Brent Phillips (98) and Amy Perkins (82) elected to board seats Herman-DeKalb Budget $14,561,880 N/A Proposition to establish capital reserve fund N/A Proposition to purchase two buses N/A Lisbon Budget $18,341,298 Yes 166 No 74 Proposition to purchase two diesel buses Yes 173 No 67 Nancy Fox (181) elected to five-year board seat Madrid-Waddington Budget $21,500,940 Yes 142 No 14 Bus proposition Yes 146 No 8 Capital outlay proposition Yes 145 No 9 Ryan Hayes and Christopher Pryce elected to five-year board seats Proposition to purchase one bus and one van Massena Budget $74,402,939 Yes 461 No 145 Capital project $79.8 million Yes 429 No 159 Proposition to establish capital reserve fund Yes 469 No 131 Robert LaBlanc (322), Bruce Beckstead (382) and Timothy Hayes (452) elected to board seats Morristown Budget $11,742,305 Yes 125 No 34 Library proposition Yes 127 No 42 Joshua Hunter (149), Kristy Simmons (128) and Lawrence Kring (138) elected to three-year board terms Norwood-Norfolk Budget $30,280,541 Yes 205 No 43 Proposition to purchase three buses Yes 213 No 33 Katherine LaVigne (169), Kimberly Smith (154), Mary Ellen Todd (189) and Susan Mackey (143) elected to board seats Ogdensburg Budget $56,092,979 Yes 279 No 175 Library proposition Yes 232 No 219 Connor Sutton (396) and Elizabeth Testani (387) elected to five-year board seats Parishville-Hopkinton Budget $13,585,904 Yes 168 No 53 Cassie Hayes (113) and Bonnie Marston (103) elected to school board seats Potsdam Budget $43,229,127 Yes 413 No 74 Bus proposition Yes 417 No 68 Ralph Fuller (268), Rachel Wallace (315)and (Sara) Rivka Eckert (214) elected to board seats
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Massena Central superihtendent addresses capital project public concerns
May 11—MASSENA — With the vote coming up this month for a proposed $79.8 million capital project, Massena Central School Superintendent Ronald P. Burke addressed what he saw as some of the public's concerns during the school board's monthly meeting. "When we talk about that $80 million project, it's an investment in our facilities, to maintain our facilities, to keep our facilities viable for student occupation, and for teachers and staff to be in our buildings. Just like your houses, we have to do maintenance. This is really not a glamorous project. When this project ends, I'm not sure who's going to want to come for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It's not real pretty," he said. But, he added, "There are things in our capital project that people are going to argue about and think are unnecessary. One of them, and I'll just pull the bandage back here right now, and that is the turf," he said. The turf field had been installed in 2009, at a time when current school board member Timothy J. Hayes was serving as the district's athletic director. It was first used in September 2009 for a varsity football game. "The turf is at the end of its life expectancy. When that turf was put in, it probably had a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years and we're there. When it gets to the point that it fails the compression test, we can't use it," Burke said. He said it's not a matter of "just pulling the carpet out and throwing grass seed down." "The sub base of the turf field is not the sub base for a grass field. So, if that turf fails and we have to replace it and the community says we want grass, we can do grass. But, it means a whole rebuild of that area," he said. "At some point, the community decided they wanted the turf. They felt that was the investment for the future, and it was also hopefully expressed that there's an ongoing maintenance cost to this. Every decade or so you're going to be re-pulling that out and putting new carpet down." Another portion of the project would address bus electrification at the district's bus garage. "That is about a $2.4 million proposition of that $80 million, and I think enough people have heard me already talk about my concern about electric buses and the whole process. However, as of last night, we had very firm deadlines. The original deadline to purchase electric buses was 2027. You could ask for a waiver for two years. So, by 2029 you could not purchase anything but an electric bus. They're not going to make diesels. They're not going to be allowed to be sold to schools in New York state. That is state law," Burke said. "The other part is that by 2035 whatever diesel or gasoline buses you're running, you no longer are allowed to use. Every bus has to be electric." He said they were planning for a worst-case scenario by including the electrification in the capital project. "I'm going to call it the way I see it. I look at this as our worst-case scenario that nothing changes with the law So, that $2.4 million is a really a plan. We'll plan for it. We will identify how we're going to electrify and put the charging stations where they're going to go. But, when it comes time for this, we're not going to go out for bid on this project until late 2026 or early 20276. My hope is that the law truly changes and just because it's there doesn't mean we have to use it," Burke said. He said, if the law changes and the school board agrees, the district will continue to use the conventional buses. "We will scrap that $2.4 million electrification plan and we'll go to Plan B. Plan B is our diesel, our gasoline tanks are now approaching the 20-year mark, and we know that about year 25 we're probably going to be ordered by the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) to replace those. So, instead of spending $2.4 million on electrification, hopefully we're talking about a price tag of somewhere around maybe a half a million to three-quarters of a million to replace those two tanks," he said. He said they had to include the electrification in case it was included in the state budget, which had not yet been approved when the school board met. "We're going to be voting in less than two weeks. We had to include that because we have no idea where the budget was going to go or how the law could possibly change," Burke said. The pool and the girl's locker room also needed to be addressed, he said. "I think there are some things that are truly essential, and then we're always going to have some disagreement about is that line item really necessary or not necessary," he said. Isabel Beard, the student representative to the school board, agreed that the project was necessary. She said her math teacher had to move to the computer lab because "there was literally stuff falling from the ceiling and causing students to cough." "So, I think, coming from a student perspective, living in the school almost eight hours every day, five days a week, while it looks nice on the outside, you really start to notice the issues in the school. So, while I think there might be some debate on the justification for what we're looking to improve, I think the improvements are necessary," she said.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Massena Central High School asking community to 'Adopt a Senior'
Mar. 4—MASSENA — While the Massena Central School Board continues to plan recognition for graduating seniors, one program is already underway to recognize the members of the Class of 2025. The "Adopt a Senior" program is a tradition that began with the Massena Central School Class of 2020 at a time when COVID-19 disrupted the school year is back. The pandemic prompted the start of the program, as seniors missed out on events such as pep rallies and prom. Once again this year, Massena community members are being asked to "Adopt a Senior" from the high school's Class of 2025 by providing a gift basket with a minimum value of $30 for one of them. Seniors are filling out a "Favorite Things" form that they'll share with anyone who wants to adopt a senior, and baskets will be delivered between March 24 and April 4. Anyone who would like to adopt a senior can provide the student's name by email to mtrimboli@ Graduation is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. June 27, with a rain date of June 28 on the turf field. Leading the class will be Valedictorian Meghan Firnstein and Salutatorian Evan Bovay. Before the students cross the graduation, the district's school board is planning a reception event in the May-June time frame as one of four board goals for the 2024-25 school year. It reads, "The Board of Education will create a focus goal on the graduating class of 2025 by using tools such as the LifeTrack survey, a Graduation Ceremony policy and/or logistics, and a Board sponsored reception event for Seniors," and has a goal completion date of April 1. "This is one that we haven't really done a whole lot on, although from what I understand, there's been some inroads made with getting the LifeTrack survey underway," board President Paul A. Haggett said. The district has contracted with LifeTrack Services to survey students three times, including prior to graduation, 18 months following graduation, and five years after students graduate to gauge how well the district has prepared them for post-graduation. The survey opened after students returned from their recent break. "As far as some of these other parts of this goal, we haven't really had a lot of time put in on this, but we do have a plan," Haggett said. The ad hoc committee, headed by board member Patricia F. Murphy, was scheduled to meet Feb. 26 for more planning. Murphy had initially suggested the senior reception. Haggett also updated board members on the creation of a policy regarding graduation. "The board of education policy on the graduation ceremony is being drafted by Mr. Perretta (Vice President Kevin F. Perretta) and will be reviewed by the Policy Committee. So, we do have some definite action steps to take," he said.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Massena Central School Board discusses facility naming
Feb. 20—MASSENA — The requirement for 1,000 signatures to honor an individual with the naming of a Massena Central School facility will stand. School board President Paul A. Haggett had questioned the requirements, saying he felt they were too extensive — a minimum of 1,000 signatures and a minimum of 100 letters of support. "I think we passed it in 2019. I never liked the thresholds that were set. I've always felt that was just too high of a bar, and I would like to request the Policy Committee take another look at that and see if that couldn't be modified," Haggett said in December. The committee opted to maintain the policy as written, according to board member Zachary J. Monroe. Monroe said they discussed the number of signatures versus voting population figures before making their decision. "We had some discussion about how 1,000 signatures represents roughly 1/7th of community voter input currently. So, the recommendation was to keep that policy as written," he said. Board member Robert M. LeBlanc asked if the policy was on agenda as an action item for approval. "No, it was just a question," Haggett said. "I requested that the Policy Committee go back and look at that because it's my belief that the number of letters and the number of signatures is too high, and I just made the request. I very much appreciate that you took the time in the meeting to have more discussion on that. I do appreciate that. According to the policy, there may be "rare circumstances where the honoree's contributions to the District have been at a level of significance that warrants greater recognition" through the naming of a facility or a portion of it. "Such action will require considerable community support and documented achievement of the honoree to merit this highest level of acknowledgement," the policy reads. The requirements for consideration include completion of a Recognition Nomination Form, and a petition with a minimum of 1,000 signatures supporting the plan,and a minimum of 100 letters of support that must be original rather than form letters. There is also a 45-day comment period for the presentation of oral and written correspondence. "The Board of Education will consider the input received from the community and the record of the individual's contributions before making a final decision. Such decision will be made following the 45 day comment period at a meeting of the Board of Education," the policy reads.
