The Peru Gazette

Peru Dock, U.S. Route 9 – May 17, 2025 –  At 6:30 this morning, the weather was perfect for fishing on Lake Champlain. This gentleman, accompanied by his son, drove six 6-hours from Long Island to fish in Lake Champlain. The dad is a 1998 Environmental Science, SUNY Plattsburgh grad who appreciates all the North County offers, especially its great fishing. They’ll be camping and fishing here all weekend and visit one of the dad’s SUNY Plattsburgh classmates.  The Gazette hopes they have a wonderful time.

Note: Your reporter recorded both their names; unfortunately, my recorder did not activate.

Following years of planning and fundraising, Waterfront Park readies to open

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The Babbie Rural & Farm Learning Museum is thrilled to announce the unveiling of its new museum sign. Peru School students, along with their teacher, designed and painted the new sign. The sign will be revealed during a special 10:00 AM ceremony on the museum’s opening day, Saturday, May 17th.

To celebrate this special occasion, the museum invites the public to its 250 River Road, Peru location, to join the unveiling ceremony. Complimentary cider and donuts will be served from 10 – 11 AM.

For further information, please contact Lee Ledesma, Museum Director, at (518) 643-8052.

Peru Gazette 2024 tour photo

Join Town of Peru Historian Helen Nerska with Bob McGee and Christina Irwin Mullen for a history walk through downtown Peru from Main Street to Pleasant Street to Elm Street and concluding at the Heyworth/Mason Park. Share your stories of Old Peru and hear new ones.

Should weather be a concern, call Helen at 513-582-7246 or Chris at 518-335-3639.

Assemblyman Jones News Release

The State Budget passed last night that included several victories for economic development, older adults, recreation, agriculture, veterans, education, and local governments. This includes $1.7 million increase in library aid, $21.4 million for teacher resource centers, a $1.4 billion increase to foundation aid for local school districts, $2.5 billion in capital funding and an additional $8 million in operational funding for SUNY campuses, $8 billion to eliminate the state’s unemployment insurance debt, $90 million for workforce development, $500 million for financially distressed hospitals, $30 million in additional funding for nursing home rates, $55 million for Nourish NY, $58 million for the Hunger Nutrition Assistance Program, $400 million in additional funding for child care subsidy enrollment, and an additional $100 million for CHIPS funding to improve local roads and highways.

            Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) is relieved that the budget includes funding to cover the state’s unemployment insurance debt. “It is about time that New York State addressed the unemployment insurance debt instead of making businesses across the state pay higher premiums,” Jones said. “It is great news that this relief was included in this year’s budget so that businesses can have relief from these unemployment bills. I have been pushing for the payoff of the unemployment insurance debt along with the North Country Chamber of Commerce, Business Council, and NFIB, because I know it will help businesses in the North Country and across the state deal with mandated higher cost and give them some relief to help with their bottom line. This is a major victory for our business community.

Additionally, the state budget includes tax cuts and inflation checks for working New Yorkers, and an expansion of the STAR property tax program. The state budget also allocated funding for the New York Opportunity Promise Scholarship program for free tuition to community colleges for degrees in manufacturing, cybersecurity, and nursing, and the Joseph P. Dwyer Peer-to-Peer Veterans Support Program, and free school meals for all.

Jones pushed for $3.5 million for the local tourism matching grants program in the budget, as well as $500 million for water infrastructure projects and $25 million for the volunteer fire department capital grant program. As chair of the Local Governments committee, Jones fought to include $758 in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) funding, including an additional $50 million for temporary relief. To further support North Country residents, Jones also secured.

• $251,000 for the Maple Producers’ Association;
• $300,000 for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program;
• $200,000 for the Older Adult Technology Services that operates Senior Planet;
• $100,000 for Enlisted for Life veterans program;
• $225,000 for NAmTrans;
• $500,000 for Visitor Interpretive Centers at Paul Smith’s College and SUNY ESF;
• $250,000 for the Adirondack Mountain Club visitor center;
• $100,00 for the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA)

“While it was a frustrating process to get the final state budget passed, I am proud to have secured funding for important programs in the North Country,” said Jones. “Between funding for road infrastructure, childcare, water infrastructure, education, and economic development, this budget will be beneficial to the district in many ways.”

There were aspects of the budget that Jones did not support, including the closure of up to three correctional facilities this fiscal year. “I voted no for prison closures because that is not the solution to the problems with safety and staffing at our correctional facilities,” said Jones. “Overall, I was very disappointed that there was absolutely nothing included in the state budget to increase safety and staffing at correctional facilities. This is no way to support the hardworking men and woman who continue to work at these facilities and leaves them feeling abandoned by the state.”

Enacted SFY 2025-26 Budget Includes $37.6 Billion in School Aid

Enacted Budget Includes $1.4 Billion Increase in Foundation Aid and Changes to the Foundation Aid Formula

Speaker Carl Heastie, Education Committee Chair Michael Benedetto and Libraries and Educational Technology Chair Robert Caroll today announced the Enacted State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26 Budget provides $37.6 billion in funding to the General Support for Public Schools (GSPS), a $1.7 billion increase from the 2024-25 school year (SY).

“This enacted budget highlights the Assembly Majority’s commitment to providing our students all the resources they need to thrive in and out of the classroom,” said Speaker Heastie. “By securing additional funding and new policies to make our students and educators lives easier, we’re providing our schools the ability to foster a supportive and complete educational environment.”

“As a former educator, I understand the tools our teachers need to create a space for all children to grow,” said Assemblymember Benedetto. “By expanding coverage to universal school meals and restricting cell phone usage within the classroom, we’re providing our educators the resources they need to focus students on learning rather than external factors.”

“Libraries are among our most vital and democratic civic institutions and as Chair of the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, I am especially proud of the critical funding we are providing for libraries in this budget,” said Assemblymember Carroll. “At a time when the federal government is cutting funds for libraries and cultural organizations, this support is all the more necessary so libraries can fulfill their mission as centers of learning and community engagement.”

The enacted budget includes $26.4 billion in funding for Foundation Aid, a $1.4 billion increase over SY 2024-25. There will also be changes to the Foundation Aid formula by:

• Increasing the English Language Learner factor increases from 0.5 to 0.53;
• Updating the Westchester Regional Cost from 1.314 to 1.351;
• Further changes to improve the State Sharing Ratio (SSR);
• Changing from the 2000 Census Poverty Data to Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data;
• Changing from Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL) data to Economically Disadvantaged Data; and
• Providing a 2 percent minimum increase.

The enacted budget also includes:

• $59 million to expand Special Services Aid to include ninth grade students, and a commitment to increase the BOCES reimbursable teacher salary cap over the next four years;
• $21.4 million restoration for Teacher Resource and Computer Training Centers;
• $1.5 million additional funding for Schools for the Blind and Deaf, a total of $115 million, and a restoration of $4.4 million in funds for individual schools;
• $4 million in restored funding for nonpublic schools;
• $1.5 million restoration for the Consortium for Workers Education (CWE), for a total of $13 million; and
• $1 million restoration for Adult Career and Continuing Education Services (ACCES).

Universal School Lunch

The enacted budget also provides $340 million for expanded universal school meals, a $120 million expansion to ensure all children can thrive within the classroom without worrying where their next meal will come from.

Restricting Cell Phone Usage in School

The enacted budget includes a “bell to bell” restriction of smartphones or other internet-enabled personal devices in K-12 schools across the state. This total restriction ensures schools are distraction-free zones where students can focus on learning and socializing with their classmates during class, lunch and study periods.

To aid schools in developing their own plans, the enacted budget secured $13.5 million to support the purchase of storage devices.

My Brother’s Keeper

Since 2016, New York has secured almost $200 million for the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to provide professional, developmental and educational opportunities that seek to address issues related to restorative justice and racial disparities in education. The enacted budget provides $28 million to the program.

Libraries and Cultural Education

The enacted budget also makes critical investments in our libraries, increasing Library Operating Aid by $1.7 million for a total of $106 million. Additional investments include:

• $10 million in additional Library Capital, for a total of $44 million;
• $1.2 million restoration for Summer School for the Arts;
• $125,000 restoration for Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, for a total of $500,000;
• $110,000 restoration and increase for the Langston Hughes Community Library, for a total of $222,500; and
• $100,000 for the Brooklyn Public Library Center for Brooklyn History.

Interfaith provided 11 to 12 tons of food monthly last year, their 60th

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