The Rondout Valley School Board voted unanimously at their meeting on Tuesday, November 22, to close the Rosendale Elementary School in June.

Rosendale Elementary, one of three elementary schools in the Rondout Valley Central School District, faces a perfect storm that's become all too typical of rural schools in upstate New York: Falling enrollment, rising costs and a new statewide tax cap that limits school spending without providing any relief from costly state and federal mandates.

The Times Herald-Record reports on Tuesday's meeting:

Rondout's enrollment fell by nearly 17 percent between 2004 and 2009; it's expected to drop another 5 percent by 2014.

Rising pension and health benefits costs have resulted in a projected 2012 budget deficit of roughly $3.5 million, [Trustee David] O'Halloran said. Based on the tax cap approved earlier this year, the district's property-tax levy can increase just $600,000.

Every Saturday, Muller Plaza in Oneonta is home to a small group of protestors allied with the Occupy Wall Street movement. This short film by Jessica Vecchione, taken on Saturday, November 19, features the Occupy Otsego protesters strumming guitars, talking about why they're demonstrating, and chanting "How About Democracy For Christmas?"

Elsewhere in the nation, some Occupy Wall Street protests have generated dramatic video footage of police pepper-spraying screaming students and throwing flash grenades at wounded protesters. Not so in Oneonta; the Occupy Otsego protests have been calm, even festive.

Early on in the video, an Oneonta police officer expresses support for the Muller Park protestors, telling the camera, "I think what it's all about -- just getting information out. That's quite all right."

Curious about how the Occupiers operate? The Occupy Otsego group has its own website, where they have been posting minutes from their regular meetings.