SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Voices, led by Noah Palmer, is hosting the 28th vocal scholarship competition for high school seniors in the Capital Region on May 30 in Burnt Hills.
Two scholarships will be awarded, along with an opportunity to perform in a Saratoga Voices concert. While applicants don’t need to pursue a music career, the scholarships aim to support further singing studies in college. The awards are forwarded as a scholarship to the institutions of higher learning to which the students have been accepted. The first-place prize is $1,500, and second-place is $1,000.
For more information, visit saratogavoices.org/get-involved/vocal-scholarship-program/.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — High school seniors residing in or attending private or public school within the Saratoga Springs City School District can apply for scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 from the Saratoga Springs Rotary Education Foundation. Last year, scholarships totaling $100,000 were awarded to fifteen students.
Applicants must pursue a degree at an accredited 2- or 4-year college or postsecondary vocational educational institution. Students’ academic performance, extracurricular and work activities, community service, and financial need are all considered when reviewing applications.
The scholarship online application is available now on the foundation’s website, rotaryscholarships.org, and must be submitted by April 1. Finalists will then be invited to interview with the Rotary Club’s scholarship committee.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is currently accepting submissions for its annual student art exhibition. Students in grades 3 through 12 are encouraged to apply.
One piece of artwork from grades 3-7 and one piece of artwork from grades 8-12 will be selected as “Best in Show” and featured on the museum’s website. The two winning students will receive a slate of prizes. Additionally, the 8-12 winner will have the opportunity to present their art to the winner of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course in August.
All artwork must be equine themed and all mediums are accepted.
The submission deadline for grades 3-7 is Feb. 23, and the deadline for grades 8-12 is Mar. 30.
The exhibitions will take place from Mar. 1 through 30 (grades 3-7) and Apr. 5 through May 4 (grades 8-12) in the museum’s Von Stade Gallery.
For more information or to access a submission form, visit www.racingmuseum.org/education/win-place-show-%E2%80%94-annual-student-art-exhibition-sponsored-new-york-state-thoroughbred.
Photo of an electric school bus being charged via the The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
BALLSTON SPA — The looming electric school bus mandate could make the ongoing driver shortage worse in the coming years due to the limited range of zero-emissions vehicles, warned two Ballston Spa School District officials at a Board of Education meeting last week.
Clerk of the Board and Records Access Officer Brian Sirianni, during his 2026 budget presentation, said he hopes that the mandate will be delayed, “not because the administration is anti-environment or anything like that; it’s just that those buses and the technology that they have today are not a good purchase and nobody is ready to pay for and implement all of the infrastructure that needs to be done to charge those buses.”
Sirianni said he supported attempts by various state legislators to delay the mandate’s implementation because in several years, the quality of electric buses is expected to improve. As it stands, a fully charged bus would be unable to cover the distance of some of the district’s runs.
School Board President Jason Fernau said that districts around the state, especially in more rural areas, are finding that they would have to increase the number of buses in their fleets if forced to use the current crop of electric vehicles because some runs previously handled by one bus would need to be covered by two. And if more buses are needed, so too would more drivers be required.
“Potentially, a conversion to [electric vehicles] is going to make [the driver shortage] issue worse in the future,” Fernau said.
“Yep, that’s exactly right,” Sirianni added.
Sirianni also said that if efforts to delay the mandate fail, the district may purchase one electric bus for next year to act as a pilot program.
State Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C-Ballston Lake) has criticized the mandate, stating that no provisions have been made for geographical disparities, diverse weather conditions, or unique travel demands.
“We need a reasonable approach, like the legislation I’m sponsoring Senate Bill 8467, to rescind the electric school bus mandate that will cost school districts in New York State billions of dollars, and replace it with a state-funded pilot program that enables school districts to test and evaluate how these electric buses perform,” Tedisco said in a statement in December.
The bus mandate requires school districts across the state to begin transitioning their transportation fleets to zero-emission vehicles in 2027. By 2035, all buses on the road must be zero-emission.
Electric buses can cost as much as $400,000, nearly three-times the cost of a diesel or gasoline bus. According to New York State’s Electric School Bus Roadmap report, “the total cost of [zero-emission school bus] ownership is expected to reach parity by 2027 due to advances in battery technology, increased supply chain outputs, as well as lower fuel and maintenance expenses.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — After President Donald Trump ended a policy that restricted federal agents from making immigration arrests at schools, local districts have been publicly affirming their support for New York State’s official guidance on “Safeguarding the Rights of Immigrant Students.”
The Saratoga Springs City School District stated on its website last week that “recent changes and discussions surrounding immigration policies may cause uncertainty and concern for families within our community. We have provided our administrators and staff with the New York State guidance all school districts received regarding safeguarding the rights of immigrant students.”
The guidance instructs school personnel to only allow local or federal law enforcement to question a student if a law enforcement official has: issued a warrant providing court-authorized access to the student; received consent from a parent or guardian; or if the student is accused of committing a crime on school property and school district personnel invite law enforcement to investigate. If these criteria are not met, guidance says that officers should not be allowed to speak to a student on school property.
“Our district is dedicated to creating a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for every student,” the message on the Saratoga School District website said. “If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact your child’s school building.”
The Ballston Spa Central School District posted a similar message to its site earlier this week, adding that the district has “shared the advice from our attorneys with all of our principals and administrators about their rights and responsibilities when law enforcement officials, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, come to school seeking to question a student on district property.”
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 733,000 school-aged children live in the United States without legal status.
Of the decision to allow law enforcement access to schools, Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman said in a statement that “this action empowers the brave men and women in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
According to NBC News, a White House spokesperson said on Jan. 28 that no ICE raids had occurred in any schools. The spokesperson told NBC that “secondary supervisor approval is also needed before any action can be taken in locations such as a church or school.” The spokesperson added that such situations are expected to be “extremely rare.”
A Siena College poll released on Monday showed that nearly 80% of New York voters supported deporting immigrants living in the country illegally who have also been convicted of a crime. But only 39% supported deporting immigrants living in the country illegally who have not been convicted of a crime.
BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa High School Principal Matthew Robinson discussed new potential courses for the 2025-26 school year, as well as the creation of a Literacy Lab, at the district’s January 22 Board of Education meeting.
For English Language Arts (ELA), 10th and 11th graders were surveyed to see what classes they might be interested in. Based on the results of that survey, new courses could include Film as Literature, Horror Genre Study, Exploring Banned Books, and Exploring True Crime. Classes that would be removed from the high school’s ELA program would include Best Sellers, Multicultural Literature, and Today’s Issues: Fiction and Nonfiction.
Robinson said the school would also be starting a Literacy Lab for incoming 9th graders led by teacher Annetta O’Connor. Robinson said the lab would be a two-year pilot designed to evaluate how the course is progressing before finalizing it.
“The goal down the road is it’s a 9-12 program,” Robinson said at the meeting.
The lab would focus on the basics and mechanics of reading and writing, which Robinson said teachers often don’t have enough time to focus on.
The school’s technology department is also expected to add an Intro to Video Production course to the 25-26 school year offerings.
Photo of Lou Marino via the Saratoga Catholic Central School.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic School announced on Monday that it has hired Lou Marino as their next chemistry teacher, starting in September 2025.
Marino is a certified chemistry and biology teacher who has dedicated 26 years exclusively to teaching chemistry. He’s a veteran of Guilderland High School, where he taught science classes and coached a variety of sports, including football, bowling, baseball, and softball. Marino holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from SUNY Plattsburgh and a Master of Arts in teaching from Union College.
Members of the Ballston Spa High School Science Olympiad team pose with their medals after competing in the Capital Region Science Olympiad Tournament. Photo provided.
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa High School Science Olympiad squad recently placed 3rd out of 19 teams at the Capital Region Science Olympiad Tournament. The successful finish qualifies them for the New York State competition at LeMoyne College on March 21 and 22.
Ballston Spa students won medals in 18 out of 22 events and finished first twice. The first-place medal winners and their respective events include Lucas Guest and Tina Marie Mullins in “Anatomy & Physiology,” and Kayleigh Cassels and Molly Kaatz in “Bungee Drop”.
The Science Olympiad tournament is a rigorous, academic, interscholastic competition that consists of a series of individual and team events. The events are balanced between the various science disciplines of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, computers, and technology.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs High School robotics team reached the semifinals in its first tournament of the year. The 2025 VEX V5 Robotics Competition was held on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Troy on Jan. 20 and featured teams from across Upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
To help support their future efforts, the robotics program will be hosting a fundraiser at the Chipotle near the Wilton Mall. 33% of the proceeds from eat-in or pickup orders placed on Tuesday, Feb. 7 between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. will go to the robotics team. Online orders should use the code HH6JVXJ. Those making in-person orders should tell the cashier that they are supporting Blue Streaks robotics.
SCHUYLERVILLE — As Schuylerville School District educator Amy Steele-Whitney marked 25 years of teaching, she also achieved a prestigious honor: National Board Certification in the area of Early and Middle Childhood Literacy.
The National Board Certification process is known for its rigor and demands, requiring teachers to reflect on their practices and make adjustments that improve student outcomes.
“For me, this opportunity was refreshing and invigorating because it ignited in me the passion I had as a student teacher to learn and grow as an educator that works to do what is best for students,” Steele-Whitney said in a statement. “It really made me look at what I’m doing in the classroom and self-reflect.”
In New York State, only 2,378 teachers are Nationally Board Certified, and Steele-Whitney is proud to be one of them.
“It felt like a labor of love, but also a necessary step in my journey as an educator,” she said. “The process reignited my passion for teaching and learning and reminded me that no matter how long you’ve been teaching, there’s always room to grow.”
