COVID-19

Sen. Schumer secures more than $2.5 billion for Upstate NY school districts

  “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the recently-signed American Rescue Plan includes $2.5 billion that will allow Upstate New York’s school districts to fill budget gaps, address learning loss, meet the needs of students with disabilities, assist students experiencing homelessness, provide summer enrichment and afterschool programs, and more. Schenectady County:Duanesburg Central School District$716,000.00” … [Read more…]

LIST: Funding for local municipalities from the American Rescue Plan

  “According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the senior senator from New York, $3.907 billion of the $1.9 trillion plan goes to New York’s counties, with $825 million for the state’s small cities and towns. Funds may be used by state and local governments for: Costs associated with responding to the COVID-19 public health … [Read more…]

Duanesburg teachers find new ways to teach in-class and remote

  “School looks different these days. “I was kind of nervous on my first day because I didn’t know what it was going to be like, but it was pretty good,” said 5th grader Noah McMaster. Duanesburg 5th graders are hard at work. Teachers are working with students in class and remote students at the … [Read more…]

‘It’s still school,’ returning Duanesburg students told

  “As Duanesburg students returned to school buildings Wednesday for the first time since March, educators sought to ease them into new routines and rules while reassuring kids not that much has really changed. Teachers faced students sitting at desks – albeit sometimes through a livestream and with everyone in masks – and introduced expectations … [Read more…]

Teacher union leaders from 16 local districts call for delay of in-person instruction

  “Over a dozen teacher union leaders from across the Capital Region on Tuesday called for delaying in-person instruction, citing insufficient state and federal resources to effectively implement reopening plans. The union leaders of 16 area districts – among them Schenectady, Amsterdam, Duanesburg, Niskayuna, Schalmont, Scotia-Glenville and Shenendehowa – signed an open letter urging the … [Read more…]

New York State cracks down on local bars and restaurants in violation of COVID-19 order

  “New York State has been cracking down on bars and restaurants that violate Governor Cuomo’s executive orders on COVID-19 safety protocols, and now the state is naming names. The NYS State Liquor Authority has released a list of the more than 400 establishments that have been cited since the Governor issued his first order … [Read more…]

The Class of 2020 Speaks, Part 1

  “High school graduation speeches from Alexandria Tsamis – Cobleskill Richmondville High School; Alexandria Wyckoff – Gilboa Conesville High School; Amanda Clifford – Fonda Fultonville High School; Colin Ingraham – Guilderland High School; Connor Barber – Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons; Dillon Aldrich – Burnt Hills Ballston Lake High School; Domeic Gallo – Duanesburg High School” … [Read more…]

Duanesburg seniors graduate as guests look on

  “They wore their masks and sat several feet apart under a tent that had been erected in the outfield of the Duanesburg High School baseball complex that saw no action this spring. They were happy to be there. “I knew it would be nice to see everyone one last time,” Duanesburg senior Makenna Todd … [Read more…]

Tonko says feds hurt New York’s broadband efforts amid coronavirus crisis

  “U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko wrote a scathing letter to the head of the Federal Communications Commisson, claiming that the agency is denying New York state potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in broadband expansion funding amid the coronavirus pandemic that has exposed gaping holes in the ability of people to work and study online … [Read more…]

Cuomo: Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie counties set to start COVID-19 reopening; Schenectady, Saratoga close

  “Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie and other Mohawk Valley counties will be allowed — slowly and deliberately — to start reopening their economies on Friday. Nearly two months after he ordered the shutdown of much of the state’s business community to slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that the Mohawk Valley, Southern … [Read more…]