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BH-BL 8th grade super-speller is going to Washington
D.C. After five hours of competition
against students from an 11-county region, BH-BL middle
school student Ashley LaMere was the winner of
this year's Capital Region Spelling Bee.
Go to the
Middle School home page for more details and
photos. Congratulations Ashley!! |
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Final
budget forum is Thursday, March 25
"Maintaining Good Schools in the
Worst Economy since the Great Depression" will
be the topic when BH-BL residents and staff members
gather in the O'Rourke Middle School for the
district's 3rd and final community budget forum with
Board of Education members at 7:30 pm on Thursday,
March 25.
Board of Education members have now
been discussing and collecting input on a list of possible 2010-11 program
and staffing cuts for roughly six weeks. On March 16,
they heard Superintendent Jim Schultz's recommendations
regarding the 2010-11 budget. These recommendations will
be the focus of the March 25 forum.
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BH-BL has
best graduation rate
in Suburban Council
Once again our high school has tied
with Niskayuna for having the highest cohort graduation
rate among all 13 Suburban Council High Schools.
Data released by the State Education
Department on March 9 shows that 93% of BH-BL and
Niskayuna pupils who started high school in the fall of
2005 successfully graduated with a local, Regents, or
better diploma by August 2009 -- as opposed to pupils
who, after four years, are still in high school,
received an IEP certificate, dropped out, or entered a
GED program. All 13 Suburban Council
schools had graduation rates significantly above the
state average of 72%, but at 93%, Niskayuna and BH-BL
were the best among Saratoga County
and Suburban Council schools. Data for the whole state
is available at
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/pressRelease/20100309/home.html
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Please register your
Kindergarten child ASAP for
Sept. 2010 |
BH-BL parents who have not already registered their
child for kindergarten next fall are urged to do so as
soon as possible. To start kindergarten, children must be five on or before
Dec. 1, 2010 and must reside with a parent or legal
guardian within BH-BL district boundaries.
Parents: please contact Mary Ann Meade
at 399-9141, ext. 3500, to let us know about your child
and receive an information packet.
Only 146 incoming pupils took part in the annual
Kindergarten Registration drive held on March 8 & 9,
whereas recent experience shows that there are probably
200 or more new kindergarten pupils in the district.
Knowing the number of new pupils to
expect in the fall is especially
important this spring due to the budget
cuts the Board of Education is currently
discussing. We want to be sure we have
enough staff and facilities to
accommodate all our pupils. |
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School Board
raises property tax exemption limits
March 1 was application deadline
BURNT HILLS: In January the Burnt Hills-Ballston
Lake Board of Education increased property tax
exemptions for low income residents who are disabled or
over the age of 65. Eligible residents could apply for
the exemptions at their TOWN assessor's office before
March 1.
The school board
raised income limits for the tax breaks to the maximum
allowed under New York State Real Property Law. The new
limits range from a 5 percent tax exemption for senior
and disabled residents earning $36,500 – $37,400, up to
a 50 percent tax exemption for those earning less than
$29,000.
More information & income chart |
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Winter / Spring Adult Education
plus Swimming courses announced
A new semester of BH-BL evening and
Saturday classes has begun. These include:
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Continuing
Education evening classes for adults. For all class titles,
times and fees, etc., click here for the
complete
Winter/Spring Continuing Education brochure.
(NOTE: information in red type in this brochure
is a correction or addition to what appeared in
the brochure that was mailed to district homes.) |
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Community
Swimming classes for adults & children.
For
class descriptions, times, fees and a
registration form, see
the 2009-10 Community Swim flyer. |
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H1N1 Flu Updates The BH-BL schools have now hosted 2 H1N1 flu vaccination
clinics.
For the details on these and our continuing vigilance
regarding the flu, see the
BH-BL Flu Updates page. |
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Board approves new contract
with CSEA members
On January 26, Board of Education
members approved a four-year successor contract
with the BH-BL Civil Service Employees
Association, which covers 267 full- and
part-time staff members.
Read more |
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BH-BL
Referendum Results:
Energy proposition
passes, safety & technology defeated
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake residents
approved only one of three propositions at the
district's Renovations Referendum on December 9.
Results were as follows:
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1. |
Energy Bond
Issue Proposition of $12,538,550:
613 votes for
450 votes against, a passing margin of
58%
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2. |
Student Safety Bond Issue Proposition of
$3,973,000:
526 votes for
537 votes against
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3. |
Technology Bond Issue Proposition of
$3,102,000:
504 votes for
558 votes against
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A total of 1,064 residents voted,
including 41 who voted by absentee ballot. This is
higher than the 914 who voted in the previous EXCEL
referendum in March 2007, and a reasonable turnout
considering the significant snow storm that the
Capital Region endured during the morning of the
vote.
Superintendent Jim Schultz thanked
the residents who took the time to come out and vote
despite the bad weather. "I'm heartened that in this
tough fiscal environment our citizens are willing to
support the critical infrastructure and energy
conservation projects in proposition 1," he said.
The biggest projects in the
approved proposition include $4.1 million for
roofing work, $3.9 million for new boilers and
heating system at the Stevens Elementary School,
$1.7 million to replace single-pane windows at three
schools, and new heating control systems at three
schools.
Schultz expressed his
disappointment at the defeat of propositions 2 and
3. "We will continue to ensure student safety and
address students' technology needs with current
resources as best we can," he said.
For background, see
Referendum overview |
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Pashley Elementary School video
wins free technology
Congratulations to Mr. Kopa's 4th grade
class at Pashley Elementary School!
Their brief music
video "The Wizard of E" puts new lyrics to music from
The Wizard of Oz. It was chosen as one of
the top 5 videos submitted by an elementary school in
this year's "Interactive Classroom Makeover" national
contest sponsored by eInstruction.
Although the Pashley kids did not win
the overall contest (which included
$30,000 of free technology), they did receive an
excellent consolation prize of $2,500 of free hardware
and software.
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Want
to learn more about school closings & school news?
If you would
like to receive an automatic email and an automatic cell
phone text message when school is closed
or delayed, please sign up for our "School News
Notifier" service by clicking on the "BH-BL SNN"
logo on the right. The cell phone option was requested
by parents and is a BRAND NEW feature in
August 2009.
The School News Notifier is
an opt-in
service that users control. Closing/delay announcements on SNN and on the
district website may have more details than what appears
on local TV stations where space is very limited. You
can get
more information here or click directly on the SNN
logo. |
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Board approves new contract
with administrators
On Oct. 13, Board of Education
members approved a three-year successor contract
with the 19 members of the district's
Administrators Organization.
Read more |
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School Board
votes to reduce tax levy
Savings offset by change in state
STAR values
In August, members of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Board of Education approved
a 2009-10 tax levy that was $357,000 lower than the levy advertised in
May. However, the situation is complicated by factors beyond the school
district's control, particularly the state Legislature's decision to reduce the
value of STAR exemptions by up to 11 percent.
Read
complete press release |
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Calling all BH-BL Alumni!
Details posted for Class of 1964 and 1989 Reunions Does your class have a reunion coming up? You can
read all the information we have about BH-BL reunions (or send us updated information for your class)
by clicking the "Alumni" button on the
left or
here. Also, check out and join the BH-BL Alumni Database
and see who else has registered from your class. |
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BH-BL students featured on
ABC News
BH-BL Class of 1987 alumna and
weekend co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning
America"
Kate Snow was the featured speaker at
graduation as nearly 300 BH-BL seniors crossed
the stage at SPAC to receive their diplomas.
In preparation for her visit, a
number of students created "Your Three Words"
video clips earlier this spring, and several of
their clips were among those featured on ABC on
July 25. Check out this link
Good Morning America Weekend Edition
to see "Your Three Words"
from some our students. (Look carefully and you may spot
a view of the school athletic fields at the very
end of these clips.) |
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BH-BL sports program ranked
#1 in New York
Ever heard the saying "you
can't hide that Spartan pride" ??
Well, here's one more reason
why. The New York State Sportswriters
Association has just ranked Burnt Hills-Ballston
Lake as having the # 1 interscholastic sports
program in the state for the 2008-09 school
year. Way to go, Spartans!!!
Read more
Fall interscholastic sports try-outs and
practices start on August 17 and 24. See the
high school homepage for details. |
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Joe
Pericone elected Board of Education president
At their annual reorganization
meetings on July 7, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Board of Education members elected Joe Pericone
board president and John Blowers vice president
for the 2009-10 school year. Also approved was
the list of
board meeting dates for 2009-10. PTA liaison
positions have been decided for the new school
year, but other liaison and chairmen positions
will be announced in August.
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BH-BL cutting costs on
health insurance & copier paper, gains new
softball fields
Board of Education members
received several pieces of good news at their
business meeting on May 12. Superintendent
Jim Schultz reported that he has decided to
accept recommendations from the district health
insurance committee that are expected to save
over $120,000 in the 2009-10 school year by ...
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School Report
Card posted: On
August 11, 2008, the NY State Education
Department made the 2006-07 Report Cards for all NY
schools public on its website. You can view or download
this compilation of 2006-07 test scores, graduation
results, class size, attendance and other data for the
entire BH-BL school district here (pdf format). More
information and the report cards for the individual
schools in our district can also be viewed on the State
Ed. website by clicking on "Saratoga County" at
New York State Report Cards. |
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BH-BL
High School ranked among top 1,300 schools in the U.S.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake is one of only four high
schools in the Greater Capital Region included in
Newsweek magazine's ranking of the best high schools
in the United States.
The magazine's website lists 1,300 high
schools that it calls the top 5% of all 27,000 public
high schools in the nation based on the number of
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams
given in each school. Editor Jay Matthews feels these
exams are the best quantifiable way to measure a
school's efforts to provide students with an "intense
academic experience." Other area high schools that made
the list are Voorheesville, Bethlehem, and Shaker. Go to
Newsweek top schools for the complete list,
methodology and rationale. |
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BH-BL Science Bowl team heads to
Washington D.C.
Five BH-BL High School pupils and their coach,
teacher Brian Watts, traveled to Washington
D.C. on an all-expenses-paid trip to compete
in the National Science Bowl from May 1 - 6, 2008.
To earn this honor the BH-BL team of
Douglas McErlean, Thomas Martindale, Emily Wexler,
Sam Wilson and Matthew Wolf beat teams from Albany,
Berlin, Bethlehem, Galway, Maple Hill, Niskayuna,
Saratoga Springs, Scotia-Glenville, and Shaker high
schools.
The National Science Bowl is a fast-paced question and
answer competition similar to Jeopardy. Students
are quizzed on biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy,
earth science, general science, and math. Regional
winners' expenses are paid by the US Department of
Energy, and their stay in Washington also includes
seminars and tours of landmark buildings. Go to
National Science Bowl for more information. |
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Senior
named semi-finalist in Intel science competition
BH-BL High School senior Matthew Wolf has been
recognized as one of the top science pupils in the
nation by being chosen as a 2008 Intel Science Search
Semi-finalist for his three-year research project on
carbon dioxide and global warming. He is the only Capital
Region pupil so honored and the fourth BH-BL pupil to
win this honor in the past seven years.
More information. |
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"This is the best 'attaboy' a business office can
get."
NY State Comptroller's
office gives BH-BL top marks
After weeks of analysis, the NY State Comptroller's
office announced that its auditors were unable to
find ANY reportable weaknesses in the financial controls
and recordkeeping of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
school district. Fewer than 5% of school districts
audited to date have received a record of no findings
like BH-BL.
More information. |
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"Is
my child safe at school?" is a question that
parents can't help but wonder when there are so many
stories about safety
in the news. To view a list of the many things the
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district does to
protect students and staff, go to
School Safety Update. |
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Special
website feature:
"Policy Search" feature is live The Burnt
Hills-Ballston Lake Board of Education Policy Manual
has literally hundreds of policies that describe and
control how all aspects of our schools will operate. All
these policies are available on this website. We also
have a simple way to search through them
instantly using key words or phrases that interest you.
At
BH-BL Policy Manual, you can view both the list of
all policy titles and our policy search feature. |
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Non-Idling Policy State law requires that all school buses turn off their engines
when loading or unloading students on school grounds,
except when necessary for heating, mechanical, or
emergency reasons. The non-idling requirement applies to
other school vehicles as well. A copy of the law and
memo explaining it can be viewed at
www.emsc.nysed.gov/schoolbus/anti-idling/home.html. |
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Safety measure:
Middle & Elementary School pupils must attend sports
events with an adult Burnt
Hills-Ballston Lake parents are reminded that 8th grade
and younger pupils who wish to attend evening
varsity interscholastic sports contests must do so
with an
adult. This proactive policy change was made in 2006 due to
the number of youngsters being left unsupervised
at games and several incidents of fighting, belligerence
and other inappropriate behavior.
Read more |
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