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Volume 7 • Issue 11 saratogatodaynewspaper.com
Saratoga in Sync
SLASHED Public Schools Prepare for Huge Cuts in 2012-2013 by Daniel Schechtman Saratoga TODAY
Photo Provided
See Skating page 6
SARATOGA COUNTY – If it seems difficult now, just wait until next year. And the year after that. And the year after that. Rising costs, decreasing state aid and new restrictions that limit revenue are just a few of the challenges that local public schools face as they draft their 2012-2013 preliminary budgets. As schools
struggle to close multimillion dollar budget gaps, the first year under New York State’s new property tax cap legislation is just the beginning, with many predicting that it only gets harder from here. “The tax levy cap will affect Schuylerville and many school districts this year and in years to come, as we will be forced to cut staffing, reduce programs and eliminate services for our students,” said Kim Smithgall, spokesperson for the
“Keep Moving Forward” by Andrew Marshall Saratoga TODAY BALLSTON SPA – For most of us, learning to drive is a particular rite of passage during our teenage years. The excitement of receiving a learner’s permit from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is second only to passing your official road test. For Ben Ekland of Juniper Lane in Ballston Spa, passing the permit exam was
the culmination of three years of hard work and preparation. Though Ben has his challenges, his determination and positive attitude should serve to remind us all what we’re capable of when we put our minds to it. The month of March is recognized as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM). Officially proclaimed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan,
See Saratoga page 8
Schuylerville Central School District. Schuylerville is not alone in its struggle to budget for the coming year under the new tax levy legislation, a law passed in June of 2011 that is commonly referred to as the two percent property tax cap. That title may be misleading – as Christy Multer, a representative for Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake schools put it,
See Tax page 9
Inside TODAY... Obituaries pg 5 Wilton YMCA pg 7 Business pgs 10-11 “BEST OF” the Saratoga Region pgs 16-17
photo by Deborah Neary, PhotoAndGraphic.com
Pulse
pgs 22-25
Ben Ekland celebrates passing his learner’s permit exam.
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