Beacon Dispatch

Local correspondents exploring history, politics, commerce, and culture in Beacon, NY

Issue 28: December 2006 / January 2007

  • Article Archive
  • Beacon Rivers and Estuaries Institute Teaches As It Learns
  • Beacon School Board Update
  • Editorial: Thriving Business in Beacon
  • Highland Wanderer: Walking in a Winter Wonderland
  • Holiday Shopping in Beacon
  • Recipe: Traditional Christmas on a Worldwide Scale
  • Send Us Your Pictures!

Recent Posts

  • The Dispatch Moves On...
  • An Open Letter to Mayor Gould, City Administrator Joseph Braun, and Members of the Beacon City Council
  • Editorial: Thriving Business in Beacon
  • Highland Wanderer: Walking in a Winter Wonderland
  • Holiday Shopping in Beacon
  • Beacon Rivers and Estuaries Institute Teaches As It Learns
  • Beacon School Board Update
  • Recipe: Traditional Christmas on a Worldwide Scale
  • DIA:Beacon Hits the San Francisco Chronicle
  • Open Space Initiative Passes

Photo Albums

  • Beacon Hat Parade: 2006
  • Beacon Hat Parade: Your Pictures
  • New York Rubber Co: Beacon, NY (1 of 10)
    Broke Down Beacon
  • Dsc_0144
    Inside the Woody Guthrie
  • On the Commute
  • People Powered Plowing: Stony Kill Farm, 5/6/06
  • 1
    Verplanck Cemetery
  • VFW Post 666: Bingo Night


Beacon School Board Update

by Bill Zopf, Board President & Dr. Jean Parr, Superintendent

For this month’s column we thought we would touch on various subjects and respond to questions and comments which have been raised over the last couple of months.

•    Why has the school district set up various reserve funds?
The school district received additional public and private excess cost aid for the 2005/06 school year from New York State.  This aid was based on the prior year's costs paid by the district for out of district placements of our special education students.  Although this state aid was for the 2005/06 school year, it was not received by the district until August and September of 2006. The law limits what can be done with this money, but one of the allowable usages is to set up reserve funds with specific purposes.

The reason for reserve funds is to have money set aside which can be used to reduce specific costs in future years and lessen the burden to the taxpayer. Once the financial books for the 2005/06 school year were closed and reviewed by the auditors, the district had a clear understanding of how much money could be set aside. At one of the recent board meetings, two reserve funds were set up. An ‘Employee Benefit Accrued Liability Reserve Fund’ for $1,000,000 was created to help offset future expenses related to non-teaching staff benefits.  A Retirement Contribution Reserve Fund with $350,000 was created to help offset future expenses related to the state retirement system contributions.

Continue reading "Beacon School Board Update" »

Posted by Michael Daecher on December 03, 2006 at 10:38 AM in Issue 28: December 2006 / January 2007, School Board | Permalink | Comments (173)

Beacon School District Update

by Bill Zopf, Board President & Dr. Jean Parr, Superintendent

The students and employees of a school district deserve a safe and secure environment. Yet making improvements to facilities in order to maintain and enhance a safe school environment can be costly. In this month’s column we’ll explain Beacon School District’s eligibility for funds to reduce the cost of certain school construction projects through an exciting new state aid program. Also, in light of some of the recent school violence in our country we will explain how our district currently reviews its security and safety plans.

New Funding for School Facilities Improvements

New York State has introduced the EXCEL program to provide additional funding for certain types of school construction projects.  EXCEL (EXpanding our Children’s Education and Learning) aid can only be used for improving health and safety, making buildings more energy efficient, adding technology for educational purposes, improving accessibility or increasing student capacity by adding additional building space.  It can’t be used for such things as a bus garage project or paying off interest on money borrowed to finance building projects. The Facilities Planning Office of the State Education Department has to approve any building project as eligible for EXCEL aid. Unlike standard state aid for a building project which is paid to the district over a 15- to 30-year period, EXCEL aid is paid to the school district as project costs are incurred.

Continue reading "Beacon School District Update" »

Posted by Michael Daecher on November 05, 2006 at 03:49 PM in Issue 27: November 2006, School Board | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beacon School Board Update

by Bill Zopf, School Board President & Dr. Jean Parr, Superintendent

I appreciate the many positive comments I received in response to last month’s column.  Many people have expressed an interest in hearing more about events within the schools, so I have asked Dr. Jean Parr, the superintendent of schools, to co-author the column. As the lead administrator of the district, she offers a great second perspective. This month we’ll touch on two topics that may not seem connected at first, but that are actually both essential items for a healthy school district: school taxes and program initiatives.

Continue reading "Beacon School Board Update" »

Posted by Michael Daecher on October 15, 2006 at 09:09 PM in Issue 26: October 2006, School Board | Permalink | Comments (102)

Beacon School Board Reports

A regular column from the president of the Beacon School Board

by Bill Zopf
President, Board of Education, Beacon School District

Quality of education, student safety, property taxes, home values, educated work force.  What do these things have in come?  Either directly or indirectly your school board makes decisions affecting these and other aspects of life in your community .

To help people better understand the policies and operations of a school district, the Beacon Dispatch and Beacon Free Press have agreed to present this forum to discuss the work of the Board of Education for the Beacon City School District (BCSD). This first column will introduce you to the school district, school board members, and exciting new construction work on the Rombout Middle School.

Continue reading "Beacon School Board Reports" »

Posted by Michael Daecher on September 09, 2006 at 09:01 AM in Issue 25: September 2006, School Board | Permalink | Comments (0)

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