Leading off today: Troy school officials decided last night not to strip funding for interscholastic sports from the upcoming budget, capping a chaotic 24 hours that calls into question the ability of the body to do anything more complicated that select the flavor of pudding to be served in school cafeterias.
In addition, the board has dropped plans to possibly close an elementary school this year, and will instead try to close a projected $2.4 million budget gap with temporary solutions, The Troy Record reported.
Speaking to the Troy Booster Club, schools Superintendent Fahilika Atiba-Weza said he was asking the board of education to close the gap in part by not replacing departing teachers and dipping into the district's fund balance.
Of course, that could all change again tonight when the board and Atiba-Weza meet in executive session to hash out additional specific cuts and project revenue growth from the enrollment of New Covenant charter school students when that Albany school closes this summer.
The board did not vote on the big budget-related proposals in Monday, which is fortunate because the idea of cutting sports appeared to come almost out of the blue and inspired boosters to mobilize quickly after many learned what was happening through a story in yesterday's newspapers.
Those stories indicated Atiba-Weza was preparing to cut all extracurricular activities except student council and yearbook. If that was true, then shame on the superintendent for waiting until so late in the process to spring that option on residents, even if trial balloons had been floated last week during a meeting with school district staff.
Blindsiding voters with the sports issue on a night in which the emotional subject of closing an elementary school was on the front burner strikes me as lousy managerial skills.
Atiba-Weza projected that shuttering the sports program ($450,000), cutting most other activities ($125,000) and closing district swimming pools ($250,000) would save about $825,000, the newspaper reported.
The Troy fiasco is one of the reasons I have started compiling information on school districts contemplating cuts to sports. You can find a list of a couple of dozen affected districts here.
Albany picks football coach: Robbin Williams is to be confirmed tomorrow by the school board as the new football coach at Albany replacing Pete Porcelli, The Times Union reported.
Williams, who has worked for 22 years at the Albany County Correctional Facility, most recently served as an assistant coach at Hudson Valley Community College, including one season as defensive coordinator. He began his high school career as a modified coach at Albany CBA.
