M'burgh School Approves 2025-26 Budget Calendar

Staff Report

MIDDLEBURGH - Though it it is still fall, Middleburgh school board officials are getting ready for next May's 2025-26 budget vote.

School  board members approved the budget calendar at their November 13 meeting.

The budget calendar is as follows:

JANUARY

* January 2,2025 Roll out Education Data requisition and budget spreadsheets to instructional staff via email 

* January 8. Business Manager attends junior-senior high school faculty meeting to provide budget development training to instructional staff (i.e., educational data requisitions, budget requests, subscription renewal lists).

* January 8. Board of Education meeting Public Session 6pm Budget  Workshop #1. Budget Information, 2025/2026 rollover budget and assumptions.

* January 15. Business Manager attends elementary school faculty meeting to provide budget development training to Instructional staff (i.e., educational data requisitions, budget requests, subscription renewal lists).

FEBRUARY

* February 1-28. Department budgets (i.e., Main Office, PPS, technology, athletics, building and grounds, transportation) submitted and reviewed.

* February 12. Board of Education Meeting Public Session 6pm Budget Workshop #2 Review State Aid estimates and tax levy limit calculation Review Capital and Administrative Budget components.

* February 28:Requisitions and budget spreadsheets due from Instructional Staff/Coordinators.

* February 28: Preliminary Tax Levy Limit submitted to NYS Office of State Comptroller.

MARCH

* March 1-9: Review Ed Data requisitions/Budget Spreadsheets/revised budget as needed.

* March 12: Board of Education Meeting, Budget Workshop #3 Public Session 6pm. Review Estimated revenues/Program Budget component/Overall preliminary budget. Review 2024-25 year Fund Balance projection.

*  March 31:Last day to submit requisitions/request purchase orders with current year funds. Legal Notice of School Budget Hearing and Annual Budget Vote 6pm. Must advertise four times w/in seven weeks of the vote ‐ first publication 45 days prior to vote Notice #1 to be published (Submit on this day for publication on April 3 and 4).

APRIL

* April 1-18: Prepare absentee ballot applications, absentee ballot, related envelopes, and directions. Property Tax Report Card submitted to local newspaper. 

* April 9: Board of Education Meeting Public Session 6pm. Adopt Tentative 2025-2026 Budget/propositions for voter approval. Appoint clerks and inspectors of elections for budget vote.

April 10-17: Prepare Budget Workbook/Newsletter.

* April 11: Submit the Property Tax Report Card to NYS.

* April 14: Legal Notice of School Budget Hearing and Annual Budget Vote 6pm. Notice #2 to be published (Submit on this day for publication on April 17 and 18).

* April 21: Deadline for filing Board of Education petitions and propositions for vote. Must be submitted to the District Clerk by 5pm.

* April 21: Media Release on Proposed Budget Required Documents available in District Office and on District website: School District Report Card, Fiscal Accountability Statement, Property Tax Report Card, Administrative Salary Disclosure, and Tax Exemption Notice, Budget Notice, Transparency Report Absentee Ballots available from the District Clerk Budget Workbook available on District website/at offices.

* April 22 Date of drawing by District Clerk for determination of order for listing Board of Education candidates on ballot Inform candidates of legal requirement for all candidates for election to BOE to file sworn statements of campaign contributions and distribute informational material. First sworn statements to  be filed  with District Clerk and Commissioner of Education 30 days prior to vote date. 

* April 23: Board of Education Meeting ‐ BOCES Budget Vote Public Session Time TBD.

* April 25: Distribute military ballots (no later than 25 days before vote).

* April 25: Arrange for the pickup and return of voting machines with Board of Elections.

* April 28: Notice #3 to be published (Submit on this day for publication on May 2 and 3) .

MAY

* May 1-16: Prepare ballot for voting machines ‐ submit to County.

* May 5: Legal Notice of School Budget Hearing and Annual Budget Vote Notice #4 to be published (Submit on this day for publication on May 8 and 9).

* May 6:  Annual Budget Hearing Presentation posted to the District's website.

* May 7: Annual Budget Hearing/Board of Education Meeting Public Session 6pm.

* May 8: Budget Newsletter/Notice mailed to eligible voters after budget hearing.

* May 15: Second sworn statement of campaign contributions or loans by candidates for membership on the Board of Education to be filed with the District Clerk.

* May 15-19: Sworn statements of campaign contributions or loans in excess of $1,000, received before vote date and not previously reported, to be filed with the District Clerk within 24 hours of receipt by candidates for membership on the Board of Education.

* May 20: Annual Budget Vote/Proposition Vote/Board of Education Election noon ‐ 9pm Junior/Senior High School Gymnasium Lobby. Absentee ballots must be submitted to the District Clerk by 5pm on May 20. Budget Revote date ‐ June 17 (only if budget proposition fails) 

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M'burgh Village Sets Meeting Dates for 2025

MIDDLEBURGH - Middleburgh village board members Monday set their monthly meeting schedule for 2025 at their re-organizational meeting.

The meeting dates are:

* January 6, 2025.

* February 3.

* March 3.

* April 14.

* May 5.

June 1.

* July 7.

* August 4.

* September 8.

* October 6.

* November 3.

* December 1.

The board meets on the first Monday of the month except for holidays and April, when they meet on the second Monday. The meetings start at 7pm and are currently held in the commujnty room of the Middleburgh library.

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M'burgh Village to Get New LED Streetlights by Spring

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - The Village of Middleburgh should be getting more than 130 new LED streetlights by April.

Trustee Bob Tinker announced at Monday night's village board meeting that National Grid will be replacing between 134 to 139 streetlights by next April. The changeover should take about a week.

The changeover should have started three years ago, he said, as National Grid had promised to replace burnt out bulbs with LED but found out they had leftover old-style lights and used them instead, he said.

The conversion, which was approved Monday, will cost $11,716,.24, but with a rebate, the final cost to the village will be $4,711.24.

The new lights will be brighter and the village will save on electricity charges, but the proposed National Grid rate hike increase in facility charges will wipe out most of the village's savings, officials said. The village breaks about even, with a possibility of savings, Mayor Tim Knight said.

The brighter lights are very important, Trustee Tinker said.

"People walking their dogs at night with no sidewalks, it's dangerous," he said.

The lights will be brighter in the business district, by the elementary schools, and the Methodist Church. The decorative lights will also be brighter.

Currently, there are nine lights in the village. Trustee Tinker noted that LEDs should last much longer. "We shouldn't have any more of that...We're headed in the right direction."

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M'burgh's RR Ave. to go One-Way on Jan. 2

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - Middleburgh village officials are getting ready to officially make Railroad Avenue a one-way street starting on January 2.

Village board members approved the change in August after a public hearing. The one-way, out onto Main Street, will start at Danforth Avenue on one fork of the street and Wells Avenue on the other side.

The signs have been ordered and will be put up on the morning of the change, Mayor Tim Knight said Monday night. 

The parking meters are also being ordered for Railroad Avenue, the Mayor said at Monday's meeting. The parking will remain on the same side of the street.

At a special meeting in August, village officials made the change after listening to a dozen speakers with opinions on both sides of the issue,

Speakers were split during the 50-minute public hearing, some supporting the change to one-way citing safety for drivers, pedestrians and firefighters, while other were against and asking for more study and parking before a change was made.

The change will allow fire trucks to come down Railroad Avenue and onto Main Street saving valuable seconds, several speakers noted.

The change had been discussed for many years.

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MCS Names Odyssey of the Mind Coaches

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - Middleburgh school board members named a slate of Odyssey of the Mind coaches and made a slew of personnel moves earlier this month.

At their October 13 meeting, school board members appointed the following Odyssey of the Mind coaches: Maria McGrail, Nichole Calhoun, Lisa Robert, Ryan Pillsbury, Shannon Thayer, Megan Joubert, and Alyssa Pacatte. The salaries are per the current MCSTA contract.

In other personnel moves, board members:

* Named Mikayla Misenhimer to Music of the Knight.

* Appointed Sarah Tomic and Ms. Misenhimer as co-musical choral directors.

* Agreed to increase the hours of cleaner Michael Sherwood from .75 FTE to a 1.0 FTE; effective November 18.

* Named the following support staff substitutes: Kyle Britton, Daniel Dial, Sharon Terzakis, Chloe Barber, Jackson Hughes-Charboneau, Alyssa Warner, and Brian Bagley. Salaries are at the current substitute rates.

* Appointed Staci Kane as the varsity softball coach in the spring.

* Approved Rob Randaisi, RJ Proctor, Dave Mattice, and Randy Nelson as long-term volunteers in athletics.

* Named Heather Schrempf-White as a BOCES tutor, effective September 24 at a salary per the MCSTA agreement.

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Schoharie Chapter NSAR and SUNY Landscaping Class Close Brick Walkway Project for the Winter

Work on the Patriot Walkway at Lasell Hall has been finished for the winter. All available bricks have been placed, and can be seen when the walkway is not snow covered. Please feel free to seek out your patriot if you have purchased a brick. 

Orders for bricks may still be taken, but will not be filled until early 2025. New bricks will be placed in the Spring ahead of our ribbon cutting on May 31, 2025.

Please be aware that the ground around the walkway may be soft and a bit muddy if the ground is not frozen. Use care when walking across the lawn, and avoid the muddiest areas closest to the walkway if possible.

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Newspaper Seeking Motto Ideas

This week we decided to take into consideration a recommendation of our writer Lei Pollard regarding a possible motto for our newspaper. I’m not sure whether we’ll do it, but considering that we’ll also be asking for public feedback for our person of the year to be announced early next year, feel free to get in on this one, too.

If we do adopt a motto and you are the one that recommended it, we’ll send you a complimentary two year subscription! The ones submitted so far are:

-Dig deeper

-Soar to the skies with knowledge

-Unfold your wings, uncover truths, stay informed

-The sheet fit to print

-Involve. Inform. Inspire.

-From the printer to the people

-Accuracy in all things new

-Ready, set, journal

-Here's our two cents

-Where knowledge meets ink

What do you think?

Send us your feedback to: mountaineaglenews@gmail.com or mail it to us at:

The Mountain Eagle

PO Box 162

Schoharie NY 12157

or 

The Mountain Eagle

PO Box 278

Stamford NY 12167

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NYPA Hosts “Holly Jolly Celebration” at the Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center Dec. 14

NORTH BLENHEIM —The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will host its “Holly Jolly Celebration,” a free community event comprised of family-friendly activities at the visitors center for the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project on Saturday, Dec. 14, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Guests will have the opportunity to write letters to Santa and participate in other holiday-themed arts and crafts activities. Santa will be next door at Historic Lansing Manor for free photos.

Additionally, guests will be able to enjoy horse and wagon rides on the grounds surrounding the visitors center. The event will also feature decorated trees that will showcase local clubs and non-profits. NYPA will provide cookies and a free ornament for each child in attendance.

The Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center is housed in a restored 19th century dairy barn and is part of the Lansing Manor complex. The center features a wide range of interactive exhibits on such subjects as: the basics of electricity, uses of electricity, and the operation of the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project. The Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center is open daily for tours between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center is located on Route 30, 17 miles south of Middleburgh, five miles north of Grand Gorge, and approximately one hour from Albany.

Additional events are held throughout the year. Admission to the visitors center and Lansing Manor is always free. School groups and community organizations are welcome. For further information and a complete calendar of events, please call 1-800-724-0309 or visit www.nypa.gov.

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Old Stone Fort Schedule Announced for 2025

The Old Stone Fort Museum announced its preliminary 2025 schedule.

• February 22, 2pm: A presentation about Philip Schuyler and his importance during the American Revolution by historian Jon Jasewicz @ the Badgley Museum Annex.

• March 8, 2pm: A presentation by author Jeff O'Connor on his latest book, Skohere and the Birth of New York’s Western Frontier 1609-1731: Volume III  1703-1731 @ the Badgley Museum Annex.

• March 29, 2pm: A presentation for the bicentennial of the Erie Canal by David Brooks, the Education Director at the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site @ the Badgley Museum Annex.

• April 5, 2pm: A presentation on the Underground Railroad in Schoharie County by Esperance Town Historian Ken Jones @ the Badgley Museum Annex.

• April 26, 9am-4pm: Maple Festival @ Cobleskill Fairgrounds

• May 30, 6pm: Decoration Day @ the Fort

• May 31: "Loyalty Prevailed Over Every Other Consideration" event with living history demonstrations to bring Schoharie in 1775 to life as news came in from Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill @ the Museum Complex.

• October 4, 10am-4pm: 3rd Annual Schoharie County Fall Festival

• 
  

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Operation Christmas Child Collection at Reformed Church

MIDDLEBURGH - Volunteers at the Reformed Church in Middleburgh were busy in November boxing up toys and gifts for needy children throughout the world for the Operation Christmas Child program. 

Middleburgh Reformed Church served as an Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoebox drop-off site during the week of November 18.  It was staffed by volunteers from several area churches.  OCC is a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international relief organization.  Church groups, community organizations, and individuals fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and clothing to be distributed to children in more than 150 countries.  Each shoebox is meant to be a tangible representation of God's love to the child who receives it.

More than 2,000 shoeboxes were collected in Middleburgh.  They were transported to a central drop-off site in Latham where they were loaded onto a tractor trailer.  The journey continued on to a processing center in Baltimore where each shoebox is inspected and prepared for shipping. 

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Quick Work Limits Damage From Middleburgh Fire

MIDDLEBURGH - On Saturday, November 23, the Middleburgh Fire Department was dispatched at 7:45pm for a reported structure fire at 136 Wells Avenue Apt. 3. 

Middleburgh fire first unit on the scene at 7:51pm, six minutes later. Members of the interior team quickly noticed fire in stove and a crack heating element in the oven, fire confined to the oven. A quick action from the resident with an ABC fire extinguisher effectively smoldered the fire and fire was unable to spread. Officials said that 11 personnel, Engine Tanker 1232, and Ladder 1281 responded to the scene.

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SCS Building Project Ahead of Schedule - Major Strides Eyed for This Month

By David Avitabile

SCHOHARIE - Even though the cold and snow have come early this year, the huge building project at Schoharie elementary school is ahead of schedule, and major progress is planned for this month, SCS David Blanchard recently reported..

"It's really moving along faster than anticipated," Superintendent Blanchard told school board members at their November 21 meeting.

The teachers and students have been "extremely cooperative" and there have been "minimal interruptions," he notes. "We are well ahead of schedule," and he is very encouraged with the projects.

The first two weeks of December are very pivotal, he said.

Concrete work is planned for December 4, 6, and 9 as the concrete truck will pour floors in several areas including the rebuilt gym, the cafeteria, and the kitchen in the elementary school. Then the walls will go up. The remaining floor in the new cafeteria will be poured on December 12.

The project will have a major impact on the elementary school installing a new gym and relocating the cafeteria and library, among other work.

The district has a very quick timeline and officials are looking to complete the project during the summer of 2025.

The bids were awarded in August and work began in the beginning of September. Construction and break down areas were installed around September 15,

In addition to the work in the elementary school, other areas are seeing upgrades including the high school gym locker room, the training rooms, and the fitness center. The school should have a "viable weight room" by January. Equipment should be coming soon, Mr. Blanchard said. By the middle of the basketball season, students should be able to use the weight room.

In August, board members approved four bids for the project. The district received four bids for general construction and approved a bid from Murnane Building Contractors for $9.1 million. There were six bids for mechanical work, and board members approved a bid from Crisafulli Mechanical for $1.5 million. There were five bids for the electrical work and board members approved a bid from SW Burke Electric for $1.4 million. The district received five bids for the plumbing work and board members approved a quote from Tri-Valley Plumbing and Heating for $631,000.

The lights for the tennis courts and softball fields were completed in mid-October.

When completed, the construction would combine the current "1976" gym and elementary school cafeteria into a much larger gym with a stage at one end, move the cafeteria into the current elementary school library, and move the library to the current "1952" gym.  In addition, classrooms will be facelifted and painted, bathrooms will be upgraded and there will be plumbing upgrades in the 1952 wing, Superintendent Blanchard noted.

The $25.9 million project was approved by voters in May 2022. The project does not require any new local taxpayer funds as state aid and the current building reserve will cover the costs.

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SCS Parent Suggests Buildings Should Open Earlier for Students

By David Avitabile

SCHOHARIE - For the first time in weeks, it rained hard and long in the region. Unfortunately for students in the area, some of the heaviest rain was in the morning as they were going to school.

Parent Jody DeJong, who is also a librarian at Middleburgh high school, asked Schoharie school board members earlier this month to have the schools open before 7:55am to let students in.

Ms. DeJong, who is also with the SCS Booster Club, said students had to stand in the pouring rain and that is "not the way to start the day." She wondered if officials could open the buildings 10 minutes earlier to let the children in so they could stay out of the rain.

She noted that the change could also help with the flow of traffic in the parking lot.

Board members listened to the suggestions and had no comments.

*   *   *

In other action last week, school board members:

* Accepted the resignation of Samantha Bellinger as Senior Account Clerk-Typist, District Tax Collector, and Deputy District Treasurer.

* Accepted the resignation of Jolene Mercer as Bus Driver.

* Accepted the resignation of Kristin Eury as  Part-Time Food Service Helper.

* Appointed Amanda Maland as Deputy Treasurer, at no additional compensation, effective November 22 through June 30, 2025.

*Named Bret Fancher as a High School Long-Term Substitute, Salary Step 18 $72,182 according to STA Contract, through 06/27/25.

* Named Isis Brown as a Probationary Full-Time Teacher Aide, Step 3 $18,720 per SCEA Contract.

* Appointed Bettina Fonda as a Probationary Part-Time Teacher Aide, Step 3 $16.08/hour per SCEA Contract.

* Named Hannah Vedder, as Probationary Full-Time Teacher Aide, Step 2 $18,595 per SCEA Contract.

* Named Lisa Roy as Bus Driver, Step 13 $28.82/hour per SCEA Contract, Bus Run - In District.

* Approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the STA and Michele Borst, for reimbursement Processing for Medicaid Services, per stated terms and conditions for the 2024-25 school year.

* Added the following to the SCS substitute list:

12.  Additions to the SCS Substitute List, at current sub rates: Logan Esposito - Non-Certified, effective retroactive to 10/31/24, Olivia Bryant - Non-Certified, effective retroactive to 11/15/24, and Braelynn Sisson - Non-Certified, effective 11/22/24.

* Added six people to Capital Region BOCES Teacher Substitute Calling Service List, at current sub rates, effective 11/22/24.

* Approved a motion to change the salary of Mackenzie Barton to Step 1, $47,634, per the STA contract, effective retroactive to October 22.

* Approved additional stipend for the school year for: Mitchell Barton for global history and geography I, $8,000 per STA contract, retroactive to November 12, and Ron Mastin, global history and geography I, $8,000, per STA contract, retroactive to November 12.

* Heard teacher Michelle Haverly outline happening int he two schools including: the 10th grade going to Philadelphia, first graders voting in their own presidential election, a pet day in the fifth grade, first graders making poppies for Veterans Day, and pre-kindergartners making pumpkin volcanoes in science class.

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