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Utica City School District

The Utica City School District is a public school district coterminous with the city of Utica, New York, United States. It is a highly diverse urban district, having 69% racial minority students and 17% students who are English language learners in 2017.[2] It is part of Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES and the Conference of Big 5 School Districts, a conference of the largest urban school districts in New York State.[3]

Utica City School District
Location
Utica, New York
Mohawk Valley
United States
Coordinates43°05′14″N 75°15′10″W / 43.08722°N 75.25278°W / 43.08722; -75.25278 (Example School District office)
District information
TypePublic
MottoExcellence, Diversity, Achievement
GradesKindergarten through 12
SchoolsElementary 10
Middle 2
High 1
Budget$204,516,000 (2018-2019)
NCES District ID3629370[1].
District IDNY-412300010000
Students and staff
Students9,679 (2020-2021)
Teachers692.52
Student–teacher ratio14:1
District mascotRaiders
ColorsRed, Black, White and Silver        
Other information
ScheduleM-F except state holidays
WebsiteOfficial website

History

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In 2010, the two Utica schools Proctor High School and Donovan Middle School were evaluated for restructuring by the state Department of Education in response to consistent underperformance.[4]

The Utica City School District was party to the case Maisto v. State of New York, also called the "small cities" case, with seven other districts in the state. This suit alleged that the state's Foundation Aid formula, which was initiated in 2007 but frozen in the 2009–10 legislative session and cut in the 2010–2011 session, did not provide adequate funding to provide a basic education to students in these districts.[5] In 2021, on appeal, the Supreme Court of New York ordered the state to revise its funding to adequately provide for these districts. State aid accounted for about 80% of the Utica City School District budget in 2021.[6]

In 2013 the Utica Academy of Science charter school, run by the same group as the Syracuse Academy of Science, was established. The UAS diverted a few million dollars in state funding from UCSD's budget.[7] A second charter school was denied permission in part due to concerns over further reducing the UCSD budget.[8][9]

In 2016, the border between the Utica City School District and New Hartford Central School District was identified by the non-profit EdBuild as the 12th most segregating school district border in the United States.[10][11]

In December of 2022, superintendent Bruce Karam was placed on administrative leave by the Board of Education following complaints from two district employees. A legal battle between Karam and the board followed.[12] On November 21 2023, Karam was indicted by a grand jury on five charges of grand larceny and corruption. Louis LaPolla, who was Mayor of Utica from 1984 to 1995 and president of the school board from 2018 to 2022, was also indicted. Karam was accused of using district resources to mail campaign literature in support of his favored school board candidates, as well as invitations to a fundraiser for a scholarship fund run by LaPolla.[13][14] LaPolla also faces federal mail fraud charges alleging he stole $38,000 intended for the scholarship fund.[15] On November 27, the school board voted to immediately terminate Karam's employment.[16] LaPolla accepted a plea deal, and pled guilty to petty larceny on February 22, 2024.[17] Karam pled guilty to charges of public corruption on March 8, and was sentenced to pay restitution and a reduction of his pension benefits.[18]

Refugee student lawsuit

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In 2015, the Utica City School District was the subject of two lawsuits pertaining to its treatment of refugee students. Both suits were the result of a statewide review of compliance with Plyler v. Doe, which prevents schools from asking about the immigration status of students. The first suit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of six refugee students, and the second by the Attorney General of New York. Both suits alleged that refugee students older than 16 who were perceived to have poor language skills were denied enrollment at Proctor High School. They were instead diverted into weaker alternative programs that focused solely on English as a foreign language and did not lead to a diploma or adequately prepare for a high school equivalency exam. Students in these programs were allegedly segregated from other students and not allowed to mix with their peers for lunch or extracurricular activities.[19][20][21]

These suits were settled in 2016. For the first suit, the district agreed to reach out to individual school-age refugees as well as refugee communities in Utica to notify them of their right to attend school. For the second suit, the district was required to revise its enrollment policies and hire internal and external compliance monitors. It also required the district to offer compensatory schooling for students whose admission was denied or delayed, and to raise the standards of future alternative programs. The district did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlements.[22][23]

Although Utica was the only district sued as a result of the state's review, a similar lawsuit was filed against the School District of Lancaster, Pennsylvania later in 2015, and similar incidents were reported elsewhere in the state and country.[24][25]

Schools

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Elementary

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There are ten elementary schools in the district: Albany, Columbus, Conkling, General Herkimer, Hughes, Jefferson, Jones, Kernan, MLK (built in 1955), and Watson Williams (built in 1992).

Middle

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The district's two middle schools are James H. Donovan Middle School, named for New York State Senator James H. Donovan, and John F. Kennedy Middle School (opened on September 8, 1965 and dedicated on December 1, 1965), named after the former president.

High school

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Constructed in 1934 as a Works Progress Administration project, Thomas R. Proctor High School is the district's only high school, with 200 full-time teachers and 2,600 students. Utica Free Academy closed in 1990.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Utica City School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "Civil Rights Data Collection". ocrdata.ed.gov. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "About Us - Big 5 School Districts". big5schools.org. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  4. ^ BADER, DANIEL P. "State: Donovan, Proctor must restructure to improve performance". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "Maisto ("Small Cities") Overview". Education Law Center. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Roth, Amy Neff (August 25, 2021). "How close are the Utica schools to getting millions more in state aid?". Utica Observer Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  7. ^ BADER, DANIEL P. (March 12, 2012). "Utica charter schools: The new kids in class". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Staff Writer (February 11, 2014). "Charter schools: Is 2 too many? In tough fiscal times, some question wisdom of another facility". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  9. ^ "Charter school application sparks debate in Utica". WRVO Public Media. May 8, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Scott, Alissa. "Utica-New Hartford school border named one of most segregated in U.S." Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "Fault Lines: America's Most Segregating School District Borders". EdBuild. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Jaquays, Mike (August 28, 2023). "District claims suspended superintendent's contract is void". Rome Sentinel. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Roth, Amy Neff (November 21, 2023). "Why were Utica Superintendent Bruce Karam and former Mayor Louis LaPolla arrested?". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  14. ^ Roth, Amy Neff (November 22, 2023). "Utica school board pledges accountability, transparency after Superintendent Karam arrest". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  15. ^ Roth, Amy Neff (September 27, 2023). "What the federal indictment says about the charges against former Utica mayor LaPolla". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  16. ^ "Longtime Utica Superintendent Bruce Karam Fired, 'Marking a Significant and Necessary Step for the District,' BOE Says". WKTV NewsChannel2. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  17. ^ Roth, Amy Neff (February 22, 2024). "Former Utica mayor, school board president Louis Lapolla takes plea in county court". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "Former Utica City Schools Superintendent pleads guilty to public corruption charges". WSYR. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Mueller, Benjamin (April 24, 2015). "Advocates Sue a New York School District, Claiming Weak Programs for Refugees". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  20. ^ Mueller, Benjamin (November 18, 2015). "New York State Accuses Utica School District of Bias Against Refugees". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Wang, Hansi Lo (March 1, 2016). "Refugees Say N.Y. School District Blocked Them From Going To High School". NPR.org. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (May 19, 2016). "Utica Settles Lawsuit Over Refugees' Access to High School". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  23. ^ Chen, David W. (July 21, 2016). "Utica Settles State Claim Alleging Biased Enrollment for Refugee Students". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  24. ^ Napolitano, Jo (2021). The school I deserve : six young refugees and their fight for equality in America. Boston. ISBN 978-0-8070-2498-0. OCLC 1232013808.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ^ Burke, Garance (May 2, 2016). "AP Exclusive: Migrant children kept from enrolling in school". AP NEWS. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
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