Welcoming Remarks from Scarsdale School Board Leaders

It is hard to believe that the 2025-26 school year is almost here! It seems like only yesterday that we were relaxing at the beach with a good book, and now suddenly it is time to prepare to welcome our students back to school. During the summer, much has been happening in our schools to ensure a successful school year. Our teachers have been diligently working on program improvement projects and attending summer Scarsdale Teachers’ Institute courses, while our facilities team took on much-needed projects in our buildings, and our support staff were busy updating systems and communications.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Trish Iasiello as she begins her first full year as principal of Greenacres Elementary School. We also would like to thank Ron Schulhof, who recently completed his second term on the Board, for his six years of dedicated service to the community, including as the Board’s President and Vice-President. In addition, we welcome back Suzie Hahn and Colleen Brown to a second term, and welcome Laura Liu, who began her first term on the Board. And, last but not least, we welcome our two new student members, Anish Mehta, SHS Class of 2026, and Lucy Eisenberg, SHS Class of 2027.

Touching briefly on recent milestones, we would like to thank the Scarsdale community for your engagement in the budget process and support of the 2025-26 School Budget. This budget continues the tradition of academic excellence and care for the whole child, which are the hallmarks of a Scarsdale education, while navigating a challenging fiscal environment for public schools. Accomplishments of this budget include the implementation of certain field improvements recommended by the joint Village/District field study, expansion of our special education program for children currently in-District along the continuum of services, initiation of an elementary school playground redesign and replacement program at Fox Meadow, strengthened Safety, Security, and Emergency Management (SSEM) measures throughout the District with the continued addition of door-ajar sensors and security cameras, and acquisition of 3 EV buses and the associated installation of charging infrastructure as the first phase in a long-term program to fulfill the mandated zero-emissions vehicle requirements established by NY State.

Looking forward, our work will continue to be guided by the Strategic Plan around the themes of Learning, Living, and Leading that serve as the foundation and vision for all we do. The District’s priorities this year will continue Scarsdale’s history of being on the cutting edge of secondary public education, and, in support of the District’s mission and its Strategic Plan, the Board of Education will establish goals and objectives for the school year. Among other things, this school year marks the roll-out of the District’s Off and Away for the Day policy, which bars the use of cellphones and internet-connected devices by students from bell-to-bell. In addition to being supported by many in the community, this policy is also mandated by NYS law. We would also like to highlight two of our Board goals for the coming year.

Integration of our student ex officio members:

This year, consistent with new state legal requirements, the Board will, for the first time in its history, welcome two student non-voting members who will participate in our public meetings and offer their perspectives and voices to our deliberations. We look forward to integrating our new student members and ensuring that student voices become a routine and valued aspect of our public deliberation process.

Bond work:

The Board currently anticipates a public bond referendum in the spring of 2026, as certain prior debt will be substantially paid down by the 2026-2027 school year. The capital raised by the bond is expected to fund much-needed improvements to our buildings, infrastructure, and athletic facilities. We expect that there will be a great deal of public discussion throughout the fall and spring, as the District’s Capital Projects Steering Committee, composed of parents, community members, Board members, teachers, and administrators, along with our professional consultants, comes forward with its recommendations.

There are many ways to provide your comments, feedback, or questions to the Board. The full Board can be reached at [email protected]. We also invite you to attend our public meetings, where there are opportunities for members of the community to address the Board and Administration either in person or over Zoom. Board meeting calendars and agendas can be found on the Board of Education page of the Scarsdale Schools website: www.scarsdaleschools.org/board.

If you have not already done so, please visit the Scarsdale Schools homepage and click on the link to “Sign Up for District News/Updates” to ensure receipt of the Board’s and District’s emails to the community, including summaries of each Board meeting.
We very much appreciate your staying informed and connected to the Board and the District. We wish everyone a productive, happy, and healthy school year and look forward to seeing you soon.