Taxpayers pay most of the school property tax levy.  The rest is paid by PILOTs (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes).  If more money comes in from PILOTs, taxpayers pay a smaller percent of the levy.  If less comes from PILOTs, taxpayers have to make up that amount.  Superintendent Stephen Grimm told a packed room Monday that the Lansing Central School District is looking at $1 million in cuts for the 2012-20123 school year even if the tax rate goes up by 6.5%.  Almost half of that tax rise comes from the reduction of the value of the AES Cayuga power plant PILOT.  And Grimm said that the district will be looking at another $1 million in cuts next year.

"I'll tell you right up front I don't want to cut that million dollars," Grimm said after a detailed budget presentation.  "I think we need more than a 3.5% combined levy.  Which means that I think we need more than a 6.5% tax rate."

The Ithaca BJ's Wholesale Club's long-awaited grand opening is Saturday morning.  The new store will start its tenure next to The Shops At Ithaca Mall with an event that will offer food and beverage tastings, a special price on membership, and face painting and a clown for the kids.  The store will officially partner with Lansing's R.C. Buckley Elementary School, donating $500 to the school Saturday morning. General Manager Steve Pane he has enjoyed getting the store ready and getting to know the community.

"I've loved meeting the people and the employees here, and people in the community," he says.  "In October and November I had a chance to drive around and meet people, and see a lot of the community.  The culture down here is different as well.  Everybody's been really great, and the shoppers have been great."

In an era in which multiplex movie houses often have 20 or more screens, it is remarkable that Ithaca sustains a five-screen art house cinema.  But as much as art houses are about independent film making and nostalgia, they are facing the same challenges of rapidly changing technology as commercial cineplexes.  That means enormous up-front expenses in re-equipping their theaters with modern digital projectors.

"For the foreseeable future 35 millimeter will be available, so we're not in imminent danger of going dark," says Cinemapolis Director of Business Development Scott Bliss.  "But it's something that's going to be on the near horizon.  The speed at which it came about this year was surprising to a lot of people in the industry.  It was always something that was coming and then we crossed that tipping point."

Marty AasenLansing defeated Watkins Glen in their last home meet of the season on January 17, 2012, with a score of 116-62, bringing the team record to 8-0.

Ronan Corgel was a standout, qualifying for the NYS Championship Meet in the 100 yard Backstroke with a time of 55.42. Eighth grader Joe Koch narrowly missed the state cut in the 500 yard Freestyle with a time of 4:57.77. Senior Marty Aasen won the diving competition. Aasen's dives have been impressive all season, scoring high marks while diving at a competitive skill level.

The Lansing Girls Basketball team improved their record to 12-1 on the year following wins at Union Springs and at home against Moravia last Friday.

At Union Springs the Ladycats defeated the Wolves 56-16, with Colby McCartney leading the way with a team high 10 points and 12 rebounds. Maura McCartney chipped in with 9 points and Carlene Fields added 8 points to a balanced scoring attack that saw all ten players score.

Last Fall Lansing third graders took it upon themselves to hold a bake sale and raise money and supplies to help Owego flood victims.  They raised $394 and collected school and cleaning supplies.  Friday morning they were surprised by members of the Lansing-Ithaca Rotary Club, who came to their classroom to present them with the club's Community Service Award.

"We give it to someone whose actions reflect the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self," club President AnnMarie Hautaniemi told the boys.  "You know, where you just do stuff because it's a good thing to do, not for any personal reward.  This year we are very pleased and proud to give our award to this class, who through your own initiative raised $394, cleaning, school and other supplies to help the Owego victims of the flooding in the Fall of 2011."

How frequently do you read in the news that American students are falling behind in math and science?  Lansing teachers have been doing something about that with three math programs in the elementary and middle schools.  These programs have had measurably positive results showing a sometimes dramatic rise in student math literacy.

A fact fluency initiative was begun about a year and a half ago at the elementary school.  3rd Grade teacher Rhody O'Donnell says that teachers have been collecting data on Lansing 3rd and 4th graders' math fluency since the program began in January of last year, and the results have been remarkable.