Of all the resolutions Niagara Falls Board of Education member Jeanette Stypa moved over her 16 years of service, it was the final one that may have been most significant to her.
Stypa quickly volunteered to be the first to sponsor the appointment of Cynthia Bianco as the district’s new permanent superintendent. Then, as Bianco’s new venture began, Stypa tearfully said good-bye, her term ending at the end of the month.
“I wish I was going to be here for this run, but who knows, the door may be open for me again one day,” she said before crediting the community with electing her to three previous terms. “Thanks for giving me the chance to learn, to grow and to have a few laughs.”
Stypa’s comments capped an emotional and bittersweet school board meeting Thursday — the last of the fiscal year — that also included numerous personnel changes and position cuts to help balance the budget.
The irony was not lost on veteran board member Don King.
“Life is a series of chapters,” he said Thursday. “Tonight, we’re witnessing the beginning of a few chapters and the end of a few chapters.”
The endings included the abolishment of 21 teaching positions districtwide, mostly at the elementary level. School officials announced back in April
that cuts would be made at the end of the school year to help close a $3.8 million budget gap. Some of the teacher cuts were offset by teaching jobs created elsewhere in the district.
In addition, the district was able to limit the actual number of layoffs though attrition and the creation of several lesser-paying jobs, including seven teacher assistant positions. Most of those teachers receiving pink slips this week will be transferred to substitute positions.
Among the most notable non-instructional layoffs was Jason Murgia, the district’s community services grant coordinator and a Niagara County legislator representing Niagara Falls. Murgia was hired four years ago to administer programs through the 21st Century Grant Program, but the funding recently ran out.
Murgia said there is still a chance funding for the program will be restored. He said a state education department review of a renewal application from the school district is pending. If it four-year extension is granted, the after-school program would remain, he said. The district also has reached out to local state lawmakers for support in keeping the program alive.
“If we get notified in the next couple of days that it has been renewed, then all the programs will be saved,” Murgia said.
Contact reporter Rick Forgione
at 282-2311, ext. 2257.
Local News
FALLS SCHOOLS: A bittersweet beginning
- Local News
-
-
Legislation protecting Falls air base units moves forward
The effort to protect jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station got a boost from a committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
-
Korean student robbed at gunpoint in Falls
Detectives are investigating the robbery of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday night in front of a motel in the 400 block of Main Street.
-
Davis will not seek Murphy removal
Lawyers for accused killer Matthew “Bones” Davis say their client will not ask to have Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III removed from his case.
-
Labor group laments economic development efforts
Economic development in New York state has become a joke to some in the area. And many of them are demanding changes to a process which spends approximately $3 billion a year.
-
Repaving work on Old Military Road rises to $790K
Sometimes a change is good. Sometimes a change is bad. For the Town of Lewiston, a change can be pretty costly.
-
Fifth-grader presents list of 400 names asking for new playground
A 10-year-old boy carrying a petition containing more than 400 signatures asked members of the Niagara Falls School Board on Thursday to consider building a new playground at his school.
-
Bomb threat leads to arrest at NT school
A North Tonawanda teen was arrested Thursday morning for sending a one-sentence bomb threat to the computer of a fellow high school student, resulting in a brief lockdown of the school.
- Sense of resignation on AES pact
-
Marching to the new veterans memorial
It's the unofficial beginning of summer.
Memorial Day may mean cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers, a trip on the river in a boat or simply a day off from work Monday.
-
Fugitive in meth case caught
Moments after Falls police narcotics detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents uncovered a clandestine meth lab in the city's Echota neightborhood, their prime suspect sent a cryptic text message to Detective Joe Palmero.
- More Local News Headlines
-
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
