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!!

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

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

Winter / Spring Adult Education plus Swimming courses announced

A new semester of BH-BL evening and Saturday classes has begun. These include:

		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.)
		Community Swimming classes for adults & children. For class descriptions, times, fees and a registration form, see the 2009-10 Community Swim flyer.

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.

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

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:

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.)

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.

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. Read more

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 ... Read more

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

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