Sep 14, 2005 — The No Child Left Behind act of 2001 included this provision: High schools had to provide military recruiters with student's names, addresses, and telephone numbers. It also said that students and their parents could opt out of this requirement. But it didn't specify exactly how schools should provide students and parents with an opt-out form or what the deadline for opting out should be.

Paul Saint-Amand is president of the North Country Chapter of Veterans for Peace. The chapter formed last year. Recently they've researching how local schools are handling the opt-out provision. St Amand is a Vietnam Era veteran and an English professor at SUNY Potsdam. He spoke with Gregory Warner yesterday. He said that the opt-out provision puts a burden on school budgets.  Go to full article

Aug 31, 2005 — A Rochester-area school district is the first in western New York to test what officials there are calling the latest student safety technology. The Brockport Central School District has equipped one of its school buses with global positioning system technology -- allowing the bus to be tracked instantly, anywhere along its route. Bud Lowell has more from Rochester.  Go to full article

Mar 23, 2005 — St Mary's school in Potsdam announced it's shutting its doors at the end of this year. The closing will affect 78 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, 30 students in pre-kindergarten, and about 15 teachers and faculty. It's not the first North Country Catholic school to close - a school in Redford's also closing this year, and Tupper Lake's school closed a few years before. But the closing of St Mary's didn't go without a long fight.  Go to full article

Dec 15, 2004 — Four students have been arrested in Saranac Lake for allegedly painting threatening graffiti and spreading rumors of a Columbine-style massacre. The latest arrest, of a 16-year-old male student, was made on Monday night. Police and school officials say the threats frightened hundreds of parents and children, but there was no actual plot. As Chris Knight reports, many parents kept their kids home yesterday, the day the rumored "bloodbath" was supposed to take place.  Go to full article

Jun 22, 2004 — The impasse in Albany has made an already tough budgeting year even tougher for local school districts. School boards had to estimate the amount of state aid they expect to receive next year. Still, budgets passed in most districts. But a handful failed. Those districts will have to make contingency budgets, and that means cutting thousands of dollars in programs, services, and in some cases, people. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

May 31, 2004 — Last week, two of Albany's triumvirate broke with long standing tradition and decided to go public with their plans on a top policy matter. Governor George Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno released their proposals to reform the state's school aid system. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says he'll issue his plan Tuesday. Some at the capitol wonder if this spells the beginning of the end of Albany's three-men-in-a-room tradition of secret meetings. Karen DeWitt reports.  Go to full article

May 25, 2004 — In the North Country, homelessness often means something different than sleeping on a park bench or under a bridge. A family who can't afford a home may move in with relatives, then a month later into a motel room, then into a low-rent apartment, and on and on. Each time the family moves, the children have to get used to new surroundings, new people, and new routines. And in many cases, they have to go to a new school. Preliminary studies show up to a third of the students in many districts don't end the academic year in the same school they started. On the second day of our series, Close to Homeless, we look at how transiency affects kids' education and the schools they attend. David Sommerstein has our story.  Go to full article

Mar 30, 2004 — While Albany haggles over how to reform education aid, school superintendents have more bad news about their budgets for next year. From Carthage to Crown Point, school budget projections call for teacher cuts, reduced athletic and extracurricular programs, even school closings, while still asking for double digit tax increases. Jim Dawson is the northern New York representative to the state board of Regents, which sets education policy in New York. He spoke with David Sommerstein during a visit to Massena. He says the Regents are calling for an $880 million increase in state aid to schools.  Go to full article

Dec 19, 2003 — The Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the group that successfully sued New York over education funding, is asking Governor Pataki to add $2 billion for schools in his new budget in order to comply with a court order. Karen DeWitt reports from Albany.  Go to full article

May 30, 2003 — It's been a rollercoaster ride this spring for New York's educators. Governor Pataki proposed a billion and half dollars in cuts to school aid. The state legislature passed a budget that restored much of the money. Pataki vetoed that budget. The legislature overrode the veto. School budget votes were delayed by two weeks to give the political wrangling time to run its course. Now people are readying to approve or reject their schools' spending plans next Tuesday. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article