The Peru Gazette

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What:    St. Patrick’s Sunday  Boiled Dinner & Music

Only $10.00

Country Band Music Only – Cover Charge $5.00

When:  Sunday, March 15^th          Dinner Noon – 2 p.m

Music by “The Country Band”     1 – 4 p.m.

Where:  Peru Memorial VFW Post 309

710 Pleasant St, Peru, NY

Why:     Proceeds benefit veterans

Source: Port Henry: Hollywood of the East – – The Adirondack Almanack

Source: Plattsburgh hospital: Coronavirus is coming and here’s how you can prepare | NCPR News

Source: Healthcare facilities restricting visitors amid virus concerns | Local News | pressrepublican.com

A pair of the hottest names in contemporary jazz join the North Country’s favorite vibes player Tim Collins for three shows at the Saranac Fire Hall Friday, March 20 at 7 pm; Saturday, March 21 at 7 pm; and Sunday, March 22 at 3 pm.

Christine Jensen on alto sax and Ingrid Jensen on trumpet headline jazz festivals and clubs around the globe, including Burlington and Montreal.  Read more »

Willsboro Coffeehouse with the Too Tall String Band

When: Saturday, March 14th @ 7-9:30pm.

Where: Willsboro Congregational Church Willsboro, NY

The Strawhatters concert band is seeking a conductor for the 2020 season. Qualified candidates should have:

Experience conducting concert band

Cabin Fever Book Sale

March 12, 13, &14

Peru Free Library – THURSDAY 10-5, FRIDAY 10-4, SATURDAY 10-3

Canton, NY – On Saturday, February 29th twenty-one boys and girls from throughout the North Country competed in the Knights of Columbus’s Annual Northern Conference Free Throw Contest. This year’s competition was conducted at Dana Hall on the campus of SUNY Canton. The youths (ages 9-14) had all won council free throws to qualify for the regional contest. The winners in each age group are invited to compete in the March 21st Upstate New York K of C Free Throw Contest in Syracuse.

Cooper Sweeney (green shorts front row) who attends Peru Elementary School will be competing in the 10-year old boys group.

Winners: Age 9 – Adam Rose and Hanna Forgette, Age 10 – Cooper Sweeney and Tess Dumas, Age 11 – Ean Rose and Maddison Gagnier, Age 12 – Jackson Ames, Age 13 – Jordan Brown and Desire Dubois, Age 14 – John Martin.

L-R Dan Lennon and Charles Remillard

Charles Remillard

Former Peru High School Track Star Charles Remillard recalls his Olympic Marathon Trials experience last Saturday in Atlanta. He finished 141st with a time of 2:30:27. His personal best is 2:17:5.

“The US Olympic Marathon Trials weekend for me was overall a surreal weekend that I will never forget. Almost immediately after landing in Atlanta I got to meet up with Dan Lennon and we had a slumber party just like the ones we would have back in high school at the state meets.

The Atlanta Track club did a phenomenal job arranging all the accommodations for the athletes and I also got to spend some short bit quality time with my family, friends and teammates (the good boys of Denver).

The Peru, NY Central School District is seeking an experienced educational leader with a well-crafted vision and proven success at the elementary level.

Qualifications:
• Facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by all stakeholders
• Advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth
• Ensuring management of the organization, operation, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment
• Collaborating with faculty and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources
• Acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner
Candidates should possess a Master’s Degree in Education including course work in education leadership/administration, and hold New York State SBL or SDA Certification by August 2020

Source: Coronavirus in NY: Officials wrestle with expanding quarantines

Source: Burlington Progressives’ sweep concerns former council members

PLATTSBURGH, NY – The Strand Center for the Arts is thrilled to host “Precarity,” artwork created by educator and renowned painter, Ian Burcroff, in the Main Gallery. This upcoming exhibit will open in The Strand Center Main Gallery on Friday, March 6, 2020. A free reception will be held from 5:30-7:30 pm that night.

Ian Burcroff was educated in art at SUNY Plattsburgh and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks where he received an MFA in Painting. From there he became Fine Arts Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Art as well as a stint as Humanities Department Chair at SUNY Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, NY.  Burcroff has had an impressive amount of solo painting exhibits and has contributed artwork to a number of group painting shows across North America including locations such as the Studio Place Arts in Barre VT, SEABA Gallery in Burlington, VT, The Annex Gallery in Fairbanks, AK, Kirkland Art Center in Clinton, NY, and The Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh, NY.

Concerning the show, Burcroff stated: Read more »

Source: What’s Happening at The Strand Theatre this weekend!

FUN.  FAITH.  FOOD.

Peru, NY:  Peru Community Church invites everyone to an informal, all-inclusive, multigenerational, hands-on exploration of Easter through activities, crafts, music, storytelling and food on Sunday, March 15, 2020 from 4:00pm – 6:00pm in the Peru Community Church Fellowship Center.

Messy Easter is an exciting way to connect with new people, have fun at church, explore your faith and share a meal with others.   We will start with a time of activities, crafts and informal conversation for all ages related to the Easter story.  Yes, it will be messy, so come as you are, prepared to have fun.

Following the time of activities and crafts, we will move to a time of storytelling, drama and music to bring the Easter story to life.  Be prepared to participate, dance, sing and learn more about Easter.  After our time of Easter storytelling, we will gather at tables to share a hot meal together.   There is no cost.

Whether you are young, old, single, partnered, LGBTQI+ or straight, Messy Easter is for you.  If you have questions or doubts about your faith, Messy Easter is for you.  If ‘regular’ church is just not for you, or Sunday mornings are too hard, Messy Church is for you.  This is a worship experience for everyone and a place you might just encounter God working in your life.  All are welcome.  Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

The Peru Community Church welcomes everyone to worship.  Our Fellowship Center is located at 13 Elm Street at the intersection of Pleasant and Elm Streets in Peru, NY.

Funding Available Through the Consolidated Funding Application

Not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) can apply for funding to undertake Census outreach efforts in hard-to-reach communities. Governor Cuomo is committed to ensuring New Yorkers receive the representation and resources they deserve. To aid in this effort, the Governor has launched a $60 million statewide campaign to ensure every New Yorker is counted.

All NFPs interested in receiving funds for census efforts from counties and select cities to work on census outreach for hard-to-reach communities must be pre-qualified prior to partnering with any county or with the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, or Yonkers. Each NFP must submit an application through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA).

NFP Deadline: Ongoing

All questions regarding the census process for not-for-profits may be directed to NFPqualification@census2020grant.ny.gov. Visit NY’s 2020 Census website for more information.

A new report by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli shows the challenges faced by the state’s school districts are as varied as the state itself. Regional factors including the local economy, labor force mix and demographics all have implications for spending, pupil outcomes and the delivery of services, including special education. The report details school district demographic and financial information from nine separate regions outside New York City.

“School districts must navigate a complex set of state rules and local needs to determine how to best educate our children and pay for it,” DiNapoli said. “My office’s report identifies the regional changes and trends that could impact district budgets now and in the future. It is a useful tool to better inform lawmakers, stakeholders and taxpayers about local and statewide issues.”

Revenue Picture

In the 2017-18 school year, districts received $40.6 billion in revenues, which included state and federal aid, the School Tax Relief program (STAR), and local property tax revenue. Property taxes made up more than half of the total revenues (53.1 percent), a modest increase from 2007-08 (51.9 percent). Over the same period, state aid as a percent of total revenues increased slightly from 37.1 percent to 38.3 percent, while the remaining shares both decreased with federal aid, declining from 3.4 percent to 2.9 percent and the STAR program dropping from 7.5 to 5.8 percent.

The percentage of revenues from each of these sources varies district-to-district. Since state aid formulas include factors intended to offset differences in local property values and incomes, districts with higher wealth, by these measures, generally receive less aid and rely more on property taxes. Long Island (66.3 percent) and the Mid-Hudson region (64.1 percent) had the highest percentages of revenues from property taxes. On the other end of the spectrum, the Mohawk Valley and North Country rely on state and federal sources for two-thirds of their revenue.

Spending Outpaces Inflation

School district spending outpaced inflation both regionally and statewide. Expenditures grew 26 percent between 2007-08 and 2017-18 compared to inflation of 16.6 percent.

In 2017-18, the median school district spent $24,737 per pupil. Districts in the Mid-Hudson and Long Island tend to be wealthier and spend more per pupil. The report notes many factors can affect the differences in spending including the local cost of labor, which is generally much higher in downstate regions.

Other findings in the report include:

• Enrollment is generally down, dropping at least 5 percent in most districts since 2007-08.
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 14 percent of children in New York state (outside of New York City) lived in poverty in 2017. Long Island had the lowest concentration of students (less than 8 percent) and the Mohawk Valley had the highest (nearly 19 percent).
• A quarter-million students were classified as having a disability in 2017-18. Regionally, North Country districts had the highest percentage at 15.7 percent, while the Mid-Hudson had the lowest at 12.6 percent. Districts statewide spent, on average, $20,820 more per special education student than on general education students.
• The statewide four-year graduation rate for students with disabilities outside of New York City was 64 percent, compared to about 90 percent for general education students. Nearly a fifth of disabled students remained enrolled in school beyond four years of high school.
• Between 2007-08 and 2017-18, the total number of English language learners from K-12 increased from 59,222 to 91,448–a jump of 54.4 percent statewide. The percentages in the Capital District, Central New York and Western New York regions more than doubled. Nearly half of Long Island’s increase was in just seven school districts.

New York City, which is many times larger than the next largest school district in the state and has been discussed extensively in other analyses by the Office of the State Comptroller, is generally omitted from this regional presentation (including in the statewide comparisons).

Full Report

https://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/education-revenues-and-expenditures.pdf

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