From the BOE: Enrollment Declines, Turf Field Completed, EV Buses on the Road

The 2026-27 Scarsdale Board of EducationThe Scarsdale Board of Education opened its Sept. 14 meeting by recognizing the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks before turning to several start-of-year updates, including student enrollment, staffing and extensive facilities work completed across the district over the summer.

Suzie Hahn, Scarsdale Board of Education President, reflected on the anniversary after attending Scarsdale’s Sept. 11 memorial ceremony alongside other Board members, village officials, first responders and religious leaders.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to come together as a community to honor and remember those we lost, and to reflect on the enduring strength and unity that emerged from that day,” Mrs. Hahn said. Mrs. Hahn also thanked Scarsdale educators for continuing to teach about the attacks at a time when the district’s students are too young to know Sept. 11 as a lived memory.

Superintendent of Scarsdale Schools, Drew Patrick, then discussed how the anniversary was recognized within Scarsdale schools. Students paused for a moment of silence, the middle school news program included a segment on Sept. 11, and high school social studies classes held discussions. Scarsdale educators also shared their personal experiences from the day with high school students during a community lunch.
“As we do annually, we did pause on Friday for a moment of silence to remember the lives that were lost, the extraordinary acts of heroism, and the enduring impact the acts of violence of September 11, 2001, have had on our communities, our country, and the world,” Dr. Patrick said.

Following this, the Board provided a brief update on the Scarsdale Teachers Institute (STI), work over the summer. Highlights included mentioning that enrollment was at its highest since 2020, and courses ranged from the core “Skillful Teacher” course, to new classes examining genealogy, historical research, elementary inquiry, and global cultural traditions.

Student Board member, Lucy Eisenberg, also provided an update on the opening weeks at Scarsdale High School. She highlighted the senior chalking tradition outside the Brewster Road entrance and said student government had begun discussing a trial block schedule that will take place after Thanksgiving break, with students expressing both excitement and concerns about the change.

Enrollment Shifts Lead to Staffing Adjustments
Much of the meeting then focused on the start of the 2026-27 school year and how changes in enrollment are affecting classrooms and staffing, which was presented by Megan Troy, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Leadership Development.

The district welcomed 4,664 students this year, eight fewer than last year and 25 fewer than projected. Despite the slight decline in overall enrollment, changes at individual elementary schools required the district to add two classroom sections.

At Edgewood Elementary School, second-grade enrollment increased to 73 students after additional students registered over the summer, requiring another section. As a result, FLESS, the school’s world language program, no longer has a dedicated classroom this year, with the teacher instead moving between classrooms.

Quaker Ridge faced a similar situation in third grade. Additional students enrolled before the district’s Aug. 15 cutoff, bringing enrollment to 67 and requiring a fourth section. Enrollment dropped to 66 two days later, but the district does not change sections after Aug. 15 because families have already received their classroom assignments.

The changes demonstrate how even small enrollment shifts can affect staffing because Scarsdale aims to keep elementary classes at no more than 22 students in kindergarten through third grade and 24 students in fourth and fifth grade.

“Just a few students can cause those shifts,” Mrs. Troy said.

Elementary enrollment currently stands at 2,119 students, while the middle school has 1,074 and the high school has 1,471. District officials expect a slight decrease at the secondary level while elementary enrollment increases, a trend that will eventually shift as those younger students move into the middle and high schools.

The district began the year with 661.8 full-time equivalent staff positions. Staffing was adjusted to accommodate the two additional elementary sections and changing special education needs. At the high school, increased special education needs required an additional 0.2 FTE beyond what had been budgeted.

Extensive Work Completed Across District Facilities
Facilities were another major focus of the meeting, with Nick Ferraro, the Facilities Director, outlining work completed while students were away over the summer.

Among the most visible projects was the transformation of the high school practice field, long nicknamed the “Dust Bowl,” into a fully turfed field. The new space can be used for both instruction and athletic practices, helping reduce scheduling pressure on Butler Field.

Other projects included water remediation at the high school and middle school, completion of the new lower-field playground at Fox Meadow, renovations to the Fox Meadow main office and expanded installation of lower-maintenance flooring at the high school.

Much of the summer work was completed by district employees. The grounds and maintenance departments combined to complete nearly 40 projects in addition to their regular responsibilities.

Custodial and cleaning staff also deep-cleaned and prepared approximately one million square feet of district facilities, including 352 classrooms, 223 offices, 208 bathrooms and 58 large gathering spaces. At the high school, custodians began restoring terrazzo floors to their natural stone finish, which officials said should reduce future maintenance costs and labor.

Mr. Ferraro emphasized that the work was completed while the facilities departments reduced overtime compared with previous years. District and building leaders also continued planning for upcoming bond work at Fox Meadow and Edgewood over the summer.

EV Bus Project and School Security
The Board also received an update on the district’s electric vehicle infrastructure. Four electric school buses are currently operating, along with an electric SUV, and a mini bus is on order.

Four EV chargers have been installed at the district bus compound, although one was awaiting a replacement component. The other three were operating on temporary power while the district awaited additional infrastructure work and a Con Edison transformer.

“We’re not quite where we wanted to be,” said Andrew Lennon, Assistant Superintendent for Business, noting that the project had originally been expected to be completed in July but experienced scheduling and permitting delays. Mr. Lennon said the district was nevertheless “within striking distance” of completion.

Emergency Preparedness and School Security
The district also provided an update on emergency preparedness following its first interagency meeting of the school year with the Village, Scarsdale Police Department, Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Scarsdale Family Counseling Service. Officials discussed lockdown procedures, first-responder access to schools and potentially adding SVAC to the district’s internal radio system to improve coordination during emergencies. The district is also reconsidering security vestibules at the middle and high schools similar to those already in place at the elementary schools.

District officials said the emergency response team would also review its incident command structure, threat-assessment protocols and the opening fire drills conducted across all seven schools.

In other business, the Board reviewed an early calendar for development of the 2027-28 school budget and approved new seventh- and eighth-grade texts, fall Scarsdale Teachers Institute courses and several PTA gifts supporting student programs.

The Board’s next business meeting is scheduled for Oct. 5.