October 13, 1982 Vol. XXVII, No. 41 The weekly newspaper - seNing the towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland County taxes up too It doesn't :-.eern to pay to he a taxpayer budget last week, Councilman Robert in a non election year. Hendrick also noted a general increase in Hard on the heels' of the news that town costs. Bethlehem. however. gets Bethlehem is contemplating a 7.5 percent very little in the way of state and federal property tax hike next year. Albany money, and is in the unusual position of County Exccu!_ive James Coyne weighed having underestimated revenues from the in Friday with a tenative budget calling rounty sales tax in past years. So part of for a 14 percent increase in the county the proposed $2 per $1.000 increase must rate. be attributed to the addition of two new positions. some new e4.uipment pur­ Last year, during local dections. chases (notably a new computer for Bethlehem's budget dropped 13 percent Town Hall), and a modest SIJO,OOO for Albany County has cut taxes e\'cry year employee raises. for the last four years, (after a one-third increase in 1977). There arc uo local elections this year affecting county or "Mr. Corrigan asked that I explain town government; most local elected that these are very tentative figures." officials face ihe voters next year. Hendrick said. He had worked on the budget with Supervisor Tom Corrigan, The Bethlehem Ct:ntral School District Emily Chen, a second grader types out the right answer on a portable Apple II at who was 1101 in town for the presentation Hamagrael Elementary School, in Bethlehem. Spotlight also raised its tax levy this year. hy J.J but wil! be present when the town board percent in the To.wn ·of Bethlehem. begins detailed discussion oft he plan this In all instanc~~. trie economy has been week. Going to school the major facu)r cited bv officials. and this wa·s particula.rly {rue. in the county's The county tax levy amounts to about case last week, Covnc said Medicaid and 12 percent of the load carried by local with computers other social sCtvi~e programs that get taxpayers, as docs the town's levy; the some, but not 'aiL of their ftulding from rest is Bethlehem Central and library. In the Federal Government, ·were growing the part of the town served by the By Caroline Terenzini faster than the county's ability to pay for Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk district, the ou have to be careful to keep a computer in its place," says Mike Rossi, them. county and town sharas are each about 19 In presenting Bethlehem's tentative percent of the total load. - who teaches computer programming at Bethlehem High School. But what is its place? Undoubtedly·; computers big and little have a role in business, industry, the military and academia. Bethlehem's town hall will be getting one next year and the public library recently uplugged in." Delmar has its own personal computer club. Now, with Apple and Radio Shack leading the pack, and IBM, Atari and others charging in, computer makers ai"e saying their micros belong just about anywhere. -Advertisements trumpet "personal" computers and stress their educational value. .- But Rossi isn't so sure. "Some manufacturers are brainwashing people. telling them they should have computers in their homes. Maybe one percent should have them. If you have young kids, maybe. And if they're used properly -to reinforce what is learned in school."' Voorheesville High School Principal Peter Griffin doesn't agree: "It's just around the corner. Everybody's going to have a micro in t-heir home, just like the TV. and the telephone." Certainly the manufacturers hope so. Forecasts are that more than two million personal computers will be sold to Americans this year. And last spring an estimated 400,000 were sold in schools across the country, a number no doubt much greater by now. ethlehem Central's experience may be matched hy many schools. The first microcomputer in the district was used in a remedial math lab at the middle school in the mid-70's. Also then, a programming course was offer~d at the hi?h school ~ith.termina\s con~1ected to the Board of Cooperattve EducatLOnal Scrv1ces then conventional large comruter. In the late '70's, a microcomputer came to Hamagrael Elementary School under a grant applied for by Principal Joseph Schaefer. ~~Now there are 50 microcomputers for BC students, 26 of which were purchased ..this summer. Twenty-five are at the high school, 12 are at the middle school and at least two in each of the district's five elementary schools, according to J. Briggs McAndrews, assistant superintendent. At the high school, a staff member supervises use of about 20 machines in a lab where students do assignments from the computer literacy and programming courses. A half-ye!'lr elective in computer literacy, offered in the business department, attracted 136 students this fall. BASIC programming, offered in the math department, drew about 120 of the high school's 1,260 students. In the lower grades, in addition to using computers for drill and practice, computer literacy is the goal -teaching pupils "what computers are, how they work, how they affect society," McAndrews said. In the middle school, some BASIC programming will be offered through the math curriculum next year. .. We had a number of in-service programs last year aimed at getting teachers to know about computers," McAndrews said. "We'll have a program this year on how to use computers as a teaching tool. Response to earlier workshops was so great we had to keep offering them. "Obviously, not everybody's going to miss supper to come," he said with a smile. "But teachers will be responsible for computer literacy programs, so they'll need a certain amount of knowledge. "We're going to define our responsibility at a certain level - to teach the Bernie teRiele plants one of six trees at Slingerlands Park as part of the Bethlehem students to be computer literate. We're not going to be turning out programmers; Tree Planting Committee's activities last week. Town residents wishing to donate trees rather the students will be using programs." ·for planting should contact Committee Chairman Dominick DeCecco, 39 Elwood Rd., (Turn 10 Page 2) Delmar. Bethlehem has defined what informa­ stuff," as suppliers used to do with tion about computers. students should_ filmstrips. The district subscribes to receive at the schools with the help of an review sen·~ces, which may review several 18-member computer advisory commit­ hundred new programs in each edition. tee including parents as well as school And Bethlehem, along with Niskayuna, a_dministrators and teachers. was instrumental in having the Board of For example, pupils in grades 3 to 8 Cooperative Educational Services obtain will be taught - at varying levels of materials from the Minnesota Education­ sophistication -the basic operation of a al Computer Consortium, "which offers computer system, how to access compu­ very good educational materials for a small amount of money," McAndrews ters, meanings of terms basic to under­ said. standing and use of computers, and the capabilities and requirements of com­ Programs can cost as much as $500, puters. which is certainly a factor in the illegal copying of programs among individuals. "Locksmith," a program "to unlock locks Computers "are not a on software," is being sold as a way to substitute at all for teach­ make a program written for one brand of computer useful on another. Computer ers, " says McAndrews. crime and computer security are among Second grader Meredith Tombros looks for the right key as she and classmate Mike "They are generally an the topics to be covered in the Bethlehem Phelps run through a language arts computer program at Hamagrael School. alternative or a reteaching Central computer literacy curriculum. opportunity." More software is drill than teaching at Some of it already is out of sight. For from inorganic chemicals, as some drugs this point, McAndrews acknowledged, example, the develop,!!lent of artificial are made today. "but there is good software available for intelligence - making computers exhibit Today's sci-:-fi may. be tomorrow•s Bethlehem has standardized on the teaching." Computers "are not substi~ a common sense and some day~ maybe, reality, and so schools are gearing up to Apple computer Hbecause software tute at all for teachers~" he continued. emotion. Academicians are working on prepare pupils for a computerized suppliers said that is what they're "They are generally ·an alternative or a getting computers to learn by themselves, tomorrow. At Voorheesville, sixth· producing for- ihat and Radio Shack," reteaching opportunity. What the teacher to create new concepts from existing graders now are required to take McAndrews said. ·· has to do is become aware its here and ones, and to learn by example. Will computer literacy, a course developed by how to use it. "The real important thing is the computers ever "feel" emotion? One faculty members Dennis Ulion and Greg software," he said. And a major problem "It's not a fad;'' McAndrews added. expert has already developed a program Robinson. Seventh graders do computer for schools is that generally software "Information processing is going to go work in the math curriculum and eighth out of sight." suppliers "won't let you preview the Today's sci-ji may be graders, in their science courses, "Y~th lab tomorrow's reality, and experiments programmed by their teach-. BULLDOZING • SITE CLEANING ers. Ninth graders use computers, too, in BACKHOEING • PARKING AREAS so schools are gearing up a business unit~ and there is an after­ LANDSCAPE DOZING.