Why School Investment Matters Most

There is a prevailing and pernicious notion in our nation that school funding doesn’t make a difference on educational outcomes. Of course, that’s crap. School funding is essential. It always has been. Scarsdale is the case that proves this point.

As an affluent and stable community, the burden of major ills of society fall less on the school here, like chronic joblessness, hunger, transience, violence, and drugs. Instead, a Scarsdale education can focus on achieving goals, like to:

● Attract quality, creative educators with top salaries;
● Insist on small classroom sizes to ensure individualized student/teacher relationships;
● Enhance collaborative and flexible spaces;
● Pilot unique and tested resources for many groups of learners;
● Welcome parents into the circle of friends as partners for education.

As we embark on school investment with a sizable capital bond, we must place at the center of our decision the trusted premise that consistent, generous, priority investment helps us reach our goals and makes our schools better. At the root of this investment is a well-documented fact that modernized spaces make a positive difference on learning. According to a 2019 study from the World Bank Group:

“High-quality, well-designed, and modernized school facilities can also improve student academic outcomes. Both in the classroom and on the school bus, healthier air quality has been linked to increased concentration, improved test scores, and improved academic performance. Furthermore, schools with abundant natural light, thermal comfort, and low sound levels better facilitate student learning, as physical learning environments contribute significantly to students’ ability to engage and comprehend academic material. In short, upgrading and modernizing schools is not simply a matter of aesthetics but an essential element of learning.”

This type of capital investment will improve specialized learning spaces; update and add classrooms; and provide safer and brighter environments with better air quality, to name a few improvements, all that enhance our educational goals. These “concrete intangibles” help students learn and grow, but investment impacts everyone who lives here. Our educational system also keeps our property values strong, our town popular, and our community connected.

That said, we have been slowly starving our schools for over a decade now and we need this bond infusion. Since former-Governor Cuomo first passed his arbitrary one-size fits-all tax levy limit in 2013 on annual budgets, we have been underinvesting, resting too heavily on our reserves, not on our values. And since this district has adhered to a “tax neutral” bonding scheme for the last several projects, we have been funding based on historic needs, not current or future ones. We knowingly let go of opportunities for low interest-rate borrowing. This has been fundamentally regressive. So, I am thrilled to see that the district proposes capital investment based on actual documented project goals, not using the irrelevant notion of tax neutrality as a false guidepost.

As a long time community volunteer with a background in design, I have served successful improvement projects in town, most notably the Scarsdale Public Library transformation, but also on other capital committees for school and town projects. Many people in Scarsdale who are financial experts are often skeptical of a municipal/school investment mindset (not a business one) that is not going to deliver direct returns. Critical thinking, lifelong learning, I mean, just kids are hard to quantify. So some investment efforts here have been difficult to pass, to build trust in as worthy. But when we invest, we win. We develop our future innovators, doctors, engineers, leaders, and global citizens right here in our bricks and mortar. I do not want to see this school investment fall under the weight of misinformation or false expectations, like those times when folks let the perfect get in the way of the good.

This last year, I served on the pool advisory committee and I am delighted by both the fulsome process that tapped our large community braintrust, and the outcome that will provide a well-considered and beloved community amenity. It was a model approach. But let’s be clear – for me, it’s schools, not pools, that matter most. If we can support such a vital, health recreational venture, and we can, then we must also support school investment, at the highest level possible.

I hope most stakeholders feel the same as I do. For young parents of the elementary schools – I will leave the specifics to you, but remember, it does not have to be equal to be fair. Love and advocate for your neighborhood school but love your whole district more. In my experience, this town does renovation pretty well by minimizing interruptions and maximizing learning opportunities in the renovation time. Of course, no one gets it perfectly. For example, my now grown kids entered an elementary school that had recent renovations – nice! But, also, they graduated before the long delayed HS auditorium even started, though they were both musicians. It happens. (Hey, they still got to play at Carnegie Hall!) Let your neighbors have their turn without it being contentious. We will always invest again. That is our social contract.

The Board of Education has a unique role to play to ensure parents and the larger community understand that these district bond plans are fair, practical, and future facing. It's a funny little dance for those of you in the know. They are our primary advocates for education but they do not take a position yet, committed to district accountability. It is thus the district professionals who set up decision structures and feedback loops, while the BoE gives input and insight on still-open priorities. But if we are being honest, the district is spread thin and the BoE should really be stepping up with communications work as our primary translators for this effort. They can ensure that school investment is well understood and that it best reflects our community values. They can be both ambassadors and temperature takers, because this is an exciting opportunity, and if we get mired in disenchantments rather than lifted by core values, it is not going to work out well for anyone.

Scarsdale needs champions and I, for one, even as an empty nester, am ready to love our learners with major investment, again and again.

Read some more articles about how modernized school spaces can positively impact learning outcomes!

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/federal-investments-in-k-12-infrastructure-would-benefit-students-across-the-country/

https://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/McGrawHill_ImpactOnHealth.pdf

https://e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=latrobe_final_report_final_120723&hideIssuuLogo=true&u =perkinseastmancommshttps://e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=latrobe_final_report_final_120723&hideIssuuLogo=true&u =perkinseastmancomms

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/now-is-the-time-to-invest-in-school-infrastructure/