RCSD Graduation Rates Decline

Graduation rates have slipped in the Rochester City School District.

According to the State Education Department, 45.5 percent of students who started the 9th grade in 2007 graduated after four years. That's down from 46.1 percent for the group that started in 2006.

The statewide average was 74 percent. Rochester posted the lowest graduation rate of the state's "Big 5” City school districts.

City School Superintendent Dr. Bolgen Vargas said early intervention is necessary in improving graduation rates.