School Board to Consider Revisions to Residency Requirements

A much discussed policy on the admittance of non-resident students has been revised by the district lawyers and will be voted on at the meeting of the Scarsdale School Board on July 6th. At the end of the June 12 meeting, where they was a first reading, Dr. Hagerman announced that these were in the agenda but did not read or explain the changes. There was no board discussion about the policies at that time.

Policy 5152 dictates rules for the admission of non-resident students to district schools. After the district got more stringent about enforcing these rules during the school year, complaints emerged, specifically from divorced parents and those whose homes were being renovated.

You can view the proposed revisions here:

Here is a review of the changes:

First, the old policy said that the district will accept tuition paying students under limited circumstances, and with the approval of the Superintendent and Board of Education. In the new policy, "the Board of Education" has been eliminated, and instead says, "with the approval of the Superintendent, subject to the provision of this policy."

The prior policy required payment of annual tuition for non-resident students up front, while the new policy allows for payment in three installments in September, January and April.

The prior policy allowed those who own an unoccupied house in the district to attend the school tuition-free provided that: the student had lived in the house for the prior three years, it was unoccupied due to a renovation and the parents continued to own the home and did purchase another residence.

In the new policy, this entire provision has been eliminated. Therefore, it appears that if you own a home in the district that is under renovation and move out, you will need to pay tuition to send your children to district schools.  This does not appear to conform to New York State law that does allow non-resident students to attend, "upon the consent of the trustees or the board of education," and stipulates, "The school authorities of a district or city must deduct from the tuition of a nonresident pupil, whose parent or guardian owns property in such district or city and pays a tax thereon for the support of the schools maintained in such district or city, the amount of such tax."

If you buy a house before the start of school but fail to move in, you can pay tuition for up to three months to enroll your children in school. After three months, if you have not moved in you will need an extension from the Superintendent to continue attending school. (Note: It is not clear from the policy what happens if you move in a few weeks after the start of school. Do you receive a pro-rated refund of the tuition paid?)

Students whose parents move out of the district after the completion of eleventh grade can pay tuition to finish at Scarsdale High School with the approval of the Superintendent and advance payment of tuition.

The former policy allowed children who were living with relatives, another Scarsdale family or foster parents to attend the schools if the Scarsdale caregivers were given full custody. However in the new policy, this clause has been deleted.But this appears to be contradicted in the implementation guidelines below t(5152R) where there is a provision for guardians to provide documentation of custody.

Regulation 5152-R details verification and investigation of pupil addresses. This was the provision that caused consternation among divorced parents who the district asked for custody arrangements and divorce agreements. This policy was also used to question people who had moved out of their homes during renovations.

Here are the proposed revisions to the policy: (Deleted text is in red – proposed new text is in green):

1. The address of the parents must be the address of residence for each student. If a student claims residence with a person other than his/her parent(s), evidence of the transfer of full care, custody, and control must be established by the person claiming such transfer. legal guardianship or permanent residence must be presented.

2. Should a student's address change at any time during his/her enrollment, residency must be confirmed by the parent. an acceptable document; e.g., a lease, a utility bill, a voter registration card.

3. If a student's address is not the address of his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s), the Building Principal shall consult the Census Office to confirm the procedures used in determining the student's current address. The Census Office shall then investigate and provide specific evidence with regard to of the child's claim to of residency.

4. If the evidence indicates that a student's address has been purposefully changed in order for him/her to attend a school in a district other than the one he/she is legally entitled to attend, he/she shall be immediately excluded from the schools of the District consistent with the law. transferred to the appropriate district.

5. Student registration shall not be delayed pending verification of the address. A verification and/or investigation shall take place after student registration has been effected, but before the student is admitted for attendance.

The revisions to these policies will be voted on by the Board of Education at their July 6 meeting.

Fireworks Spectacular on Thursday June 29th, Carnival on July 4th at the Pool

The Scarsdale Parks and Recreation Department have announced the annual fireworks spectacular and the July 4th carnival at the Scarsdale Pool Complex.

Fireworks Spectacular (Thursday, June 29th)

Scarsdale's Annual Fireworks Spectacular, open to the public, will be presented at the Scarsdale Pool on Thursday, June 29th, at 9:15 PM. Returning to the spectacular will be a performance by the Westchester Band at 7:30PM. Please note that a $2.00 fee will be charged to all non-pool members entering the pool starting at 5PM in conjunction with the scheduled fireworks. Beginning at 8PM ALL individuals entering the Pool Complex will be charged $2.00. Picnicking is allowed on the grounds, but alcoholic beverages and smoking are not permitted. Pool members wishing to avoid paying the $2 fee are advised to enter the pool facility before 8PM.

July 4th Carnival (Tuesday, July 4th)

Throughout the day on Tuesday, July 4th, there will be a variety of carnival attractions and aquatic games at the Scarsdale Municipal Pool between the hours of 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM. A DJ will be on hand playing music! Picnicking will be allowed in the pool complex during the day as well, but alcoholic beverages and glass containers are forbidden. 

Update on School Facilities Planning: Construction Concerns, Timing, Setbacks and More

The Scarsdale School administration and architect offered some new information on facilities plans at two public forums on June 20. At meetings on May 22 and June 12, district architects BBS reported on their assessment of district- wide facilities needs and presented their recommendations for facilities updates and the addition of cafeterias at three elementary schools and a major overhaul and expansion at Greenacres. The June 20 sessions were held to answer community questions about the proposed projects.

Both meetings included a summary review of what was already presented but here is some new information that was revealed:

At the opening of both the morning and evening public forums, School Board Vice President Bill Natbony announced that the Board had requested analyses and information from the architects and financial advisors that they will make available to the public when they receive it.

They have asked for the following:

• A long-term comparison of the costs of a new school vs. a renovation at Greenacres including financing, state aid and energy savings. Maintenance costs for the renovated building will also be factored in.
• An analysis of where students will be sited during a renovation, whether it be inside the school, in trailers or in other locations.
• A traffic study detailing the mechanics of student drop-off and pick up at a renovated Greenacres School.

Read Natbony's statement here:

Timing: Roger Smith, the principal from BBS said the firm was moving toward a December, 2017 bond referendum, but cautioned that the date might be "a push" given all the questions that need to be answered before a vote. Also in regards to timing, Board Vice President Bill Natbony added that the Board is considering holding additional community meetings this summer to consider these issues.

Historic Preservation: Smith said that he spoke to the NYS Parks and Recreation Department about Greenacres and now says that the existing building may be appropriate for historic preservation and might not be "eligible for demolition." That was curious because if the building warrants historic preservation, the architects would be required to maintain the facades. Plans now call for two of those facades to be demolished.

Setbacks: Plans call for the building to be expanded almost to the street on both the Huntington Avenue and Putnam Road sides. Just how far the school would extend had not been revealed and no renderings, aerial views or elevations have been provided. When asked, the architects said that on Huntington Avenue, the three-story building would be built to within eight to ten feet of the property line. The large building looming over the sidewalk may be a visual obstruction and it is difficult to imagine where children will line up to cross the street to the field, if only the sidewalk remains. In this area of Greenacres, which is in zone A3, zoning code requires homes be set back 30 feet from the curb, three times the distance proposed for the school. However, school construction is not subject to review by the Village Architectural Review or Zoning Boards.

Parking: The architects' schematic calls for 28 additional parking spaces to be built across the street on the area that is now the blacktop. Since the parking spaces on the school side of the street would be lost, more spaces will be needed. However, one speaker noted that if the parking lot was placed there, the children would need to traverse it to get from the school to the field and playground.

There were many questions and comments at both the morning and evening sessions. Those who wish to save the Greenacres field reiterated their views on the importance of the green space while parents who will have children in the school during the proposed renovation voiced their concerns about the risks of renovation to their children's health. Older residents, primarily from Greenacres, shared their feelings about the school and proposed solutions to forge consensus.

Thomas Giuffra, the father of a 7 year-old and a lawyer who deals with lead contamination raised the risks of lead exposure to children and adults of all ages and asked that the children be removed from the school during renovation. Pointing to the environmental engineer he said, "People like you make promises they can't keep and other people get hurt." He also asked if the entire building would be brought up to code during the renovation with fire sprinklers throughout the building. That question was not answered.

Responding to parents who were concerned about environmental toxins during renovation, Dr. Hagerman defended the safety of the renovation pointing to two large homes that were built on Sage Terrace across from the school in the past few years. He said though there were few safeguards for those projects, there would be many controls in place during a school renovation. The environmental engineer at the meeting said there would be continuous air testing and Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey said asbestos removal and lead abatement would be done when the children were not in the school.

There was much discussion about the BBS cost estimate of $59 million for a new school, almost double the estimate for the renovation. Some came to the mic to ask for an apples-to-apples comparison of the features of a new vs. a renovated school. Would the new school include an auditorium or theater? They asked for more details on the design of the renovated facility and the new school. How large will the maker space be? Will it be light and look like a 21st century school? Another new voice asked for a qualitative analysis of a new vs. a renovated school, focusing on factors beyond the money, to give residents a framework beyond the money.

When asked about the life span of the renovation, Smith said it would be 30-40 years. He contended that the portions that are 100 years old are still good as well.

There were still many questions to be addressed:

Foremost, parents wanted to know how the construction will be staged, where the construction equipment will be placed and how the school will function during this two to three year renovation. Smith said the district has hired a construction management firm that will analyze the work plan and provide a construction implementation plan (CIP).

In response to a question about how lunchrooms would be staffed, Stuart Mattey advised that there would be self-funded food service that would not require staffing for food service but would require district management. There was no discussion of how food would be delivered or waste picked up in tight neighborhoods or the need for additional parking spaces to accommodate the workers.

The architects have prioritized all facilities needs on a scale of 1 to 5. There has been no discussion as yet about why, for instance, priority 3 items at many schools were included in the numbers for the bond proposal or how pressing these needs were.

Next steps: There is a Board of Education meeting and a Board retreat scheduled for July 6th. A refined presentation from the architects is expected at that time.

You can watch both forums in their entirety on the school district's website here:

(Pictured here are schools designed by BBS – photos from their website.)

Julia Fishman Weds Jon Kurzner in Bridgehampton

Two members of the SHS class of 2006 were married on the beach in Bridgehampton on Saturday night June 17th. Julia Page Fishman, daughter of Dr. Glenn Fishman and Joanne Wallenstein of Scarsdale, exchanged vows with Jonathan Aaron Kurzner, son of Wayne Kurzner, of Queens, New York. Rabbi Greg Weitzman of Congregation Rodeph Shalom on the Upper West Side officiated at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club in Bridgehampton, New York.

The bride, 28, is an Architectural Designer at John B. Murray Architect in New York. She graduated cum laude from New York University and received a master's degree in Architecture from Tulane University. The bride's father is Director of Cardiology and Vice-Chair for Research at NYU Langone Medical Center. Her mother is the founder and editor-in-chief of Scarsdale10583.com, the local news website.

The groom, also 28, is a Director at The Earnest Research Company in New York. He graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University. The groom's father is a personal injury lawyer in New York at a firm bearing his name.

The couple, who attended Scarsdale High School, began dating after reconnecting through mutual friends in 2014.  Many friends from the 'dale joined them at the joyous celebration that followed the ceremony.