BOE Reviews Capital Project Steering Committee Recommendations for Spring 2026 Bond Referendum
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At the Board of Education meeting on Monday, September 15th, BOE members heard a comprehensive presentation from the Capital Project Steering Committee, outlining preliminary recommendations for a potential 2026 bond referendum. The proposed scope of work reflects six months of study, collaboration, and debate among educators, administrators, architects, engineers, parents, and community members.
The committee was convened last spring with a clear mandate: evaluate building conditions, review educational program needs, and identify capital priorities to sustain and improve district facilities. The work was guided by Scarsdale’s strategic plan, with a focus on long-term sustainability, safe learning environments, and equity across schools.
Key principles from the presentation, emphasized that:
-Student learning should drive investment decisions.
-Facilities upkeep is an ongoing responsibility requiring both annual budget support and periodic bond financing.
-Stakeholder engagement must be continuous and iterative.
-Long-range financial planning should shape all capital decisions.
The committee members also pointed out that Scarsdale maintains more than 978,000 square feet of facilities, including seven school buildings, some nearing 100 years old. To manage these assets, the district uses a mix of maintenance budgets, capital appropriations, and bond financing.
They additionally made note that current debt service is set to decline in 2027–28, creating an opportunity to fund roughly $40 million in new capital projects without increasing the tax levy. This “tax-neutral” figure became a reference point for the committee, though the preliminary proposal now totals approximately $96 million—an amount that would add an estimated $560 annually to the average homeowner’s tax bill.
Four Priority Categories of Work
After nine meetings, site visits, and extensive deliberation, the committee identified four categories of projects:
Infrastructure (Building Condition Survey)
Estimated cost: $33.5 million
Prioritized health, safety, and code compliance items (e.g., HVAC, roofing, plumbing, fire safety).
Air Conditioning
Estimated cost: $12 million
Focus on cooling gyms, auditoriums, libraries, and multipurpose rooms, along with Heathcote’s classrooms, reflecting both climate realities and community expectations.
Fields
Estimated cost: $5.7 million
Includes turf replacement at Scarsdale Middle School and new multipurpose/softball fields at Fox Meadow.
Spatial Renovations & New Constructio
Estimated cost: $44.4 million
Major updates for Fox Meadow and Edgewood elementary schools, targeted classroom renovations, a reconfigured Heathcote library, and selective improvements at Scarsdale High School and the middle school.
Community Considerations and Next Steps
In this preliminary recommendation, the committee emphasized equity, recommending that infrastructure and air conditioning work should be spread across all schools, while spatial renovations should focus first on schools with the greatest needs.
The committee also made clear that questions remain regarding enrollment boundaries, the placement of special education programs, and food service facilities. They related that a demographic study is underway, and further community engagement will shape the final bond proposal.
After the presentation, BOE members expressed appreciation for the committee’s work, while also raising concerns about balancing transformative projects—like a possible new cafeteria at the middle school—with the realities of cost. During the lengthy discussion, several members also urged caution about investing in “status quo” renovations that might limit flexibility for future reconfiguration.
The Board will continue discussions this fall, with the goal of refining the project scope and determining whether to move forward with a bond referendum in Spring 2026.
During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez, Co-Chair of the PTC budget committee, along with Rachana Singh, addressed the community to introduce themselves and emphasize the importance of parental involvement in the budget process and capital projects. They highlighted their roles as parents and professionals in financial risk and business, encouraging community members to engage with the budget and bond proposals. The Co-Chairs plan to analyze the district's proposals, work with budget liaisons, and address questions about committee composition, taxpayer income, school equity, and the bond's tax neutrality. They also mentioned having 30 questions prepared for further discussion.
The board also highlighted the importance of community engagement and the need for clear communication about the project's impact and financial implications. They considered several approaches to ensuring communication and garnering feedback from all constituents such as combining bond discussions with regular coffee meetings.
Details from the presentations slideshow can be found here.
Class of 2026 Chalks it Up
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Undeterred by the 7am start time, excited students from the class of 2026 arrived at school bright and early on Tuesday morning eager to take part in Scarsdale High School’s “Senior Chalking” event. The annual event has become a favorite tradition among senior students which allows them to “leave their mark” at the steps of the Brewster Rd. entrance.
Dressed in their 2026 class t-shirts, students worked and collaborated with classmates to cover the walkway with gorgeous artwork, sweet messages, and even a few inside jokes born from years of shared experiences.
Through the laughter and music that filled the air, friends could be overheard reminiscing about their elementary school days and all the memories that have been made throughout their time in the Scarsdale School District. One student even credited their Fox Meadow art teacher with instilling a life-long love for art…which could be clearly seen in their incredible chalk art.
The decades-old event, organized by the Student Government and their Senior Advisors, even had SHS Principal Ken Bonamo, Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick, and other faculty and administrators stopping by to admire the creative chalkings.
One of the first of many “senior year” traditions, the beautiful morning set the tone for a year full of many more wonderful memories to be made.
Students Join School Board, District Signs EV Bus Contract and More from the Scarsdale Schools
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Monday, August 25th was a busy day for the Scarsdale School District. Not only did it have faculty and teachers returning to their classrooms for the first official school day of the 2025-2026 school year, but later that evening the Board of Education convened for a business meeting where they discussed topics like new hires, a brief education report, and consent agenda items such as an approved contract with Highland Electric Fleets.
To kick off the meeting, both BOE President James Dugan and Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick, extended a warm welcome to new faculty members, highlighted events such as new student orientations, and expressed their gratitude for the hard work that took place over the summer in preparation for the start of the new school year. You can read more from Mr. Dugan here and from Dr. Patrick here.
In their second official BOE meeting, Student Board members Anish Mehta and Lucy Eisenberg described their ideas for improving communication between the Board of Education and the student body at Scarsdale High School. Mehta discussed the possibility of utilizing mediums such as the school newspaper and homeroom videos to share information, raise awareness, and to collect student feedback.
In his Cabinet Update, Dr. Edgar McIntosh shared a brief Education Report that highlighted how Scarsdale teachers and faculty were actively engaged in program improvement over the summer, focusing on three main areas: collaborative work to align practices and grading across grades and departments, updates to existing curriculum materials and assessments, and the creation of new courses and performance assessments.
McIntosh also stated, “This year's educational reports will highlight how we are adapting our practices and priorities to better serve our students now and in the future. Both short cabinet updates and detailed reports will show how ongoing assessments and research guide our evidence based changes. Education reports will align with our strategic plan of Living, Leading and Learning.”
Going forward, the Board will be informed of Education Report topics in advance of the next meeting. Dr. McIntosh related, “For the next Board of Education Meeting, in my cabinet update, I'll be focused on the updates to elementary math resources, focusing on benchmark assessments at every grade, language, and formatting modifications for early grades and K-5 enrichment strategies.”
In addition to announcing that former Scarsdale High School head custodian, Luis Magalhaes, will be appointed the position of Assistant Director of Facilities, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Meghan Troy, welcomed and introduced several new hires to the Scarsdale School District. You can see the complete list of new faculty appointments in Troy’s Personnel Report here.
Later in the meeting Andrew Lennon, Assistant Superintendent for Business, provided a brief overview of the District’s new contract with Highland Electric Fleets. In the overview he described an eight-year agreement with Highland Electric Fleets for electric bus charging infrastructure, funded partly by $800,000 in EPA grants.
As is also stated in his report: “The New York State Zero-Emission Bus mandate requires all new school bus purchases to be zero-emissions beginning in 2027 and the entire fleet to be zero-emissions by 2037. As part of the 2023-2024 budget, the Board of Education funded a Transportation Study to assist the district in planning for this transition. The Transportation Study was completed by Highland Fleets and presented to the Board in October 2024. Highland also assisted the District with the successful application to the United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which awarded the district $800,000 towards four (4) electric school buses. Additionally, the Board authorized the District’s internal auditor, Nawrocki Smith, LLP to perform an Focus Audit of the transportation operations to further help with long term planning and improvement.
As part of the 2025-2026 Budget, the district proposed and the voters approved the funding for an 8-year agreement to partner with a firm to design, procure, install and manage all infrastructure required to charge 4 electric vehicles. The district has been in negotiations with Highland Electric Fleets to provide these services and we are prepared to recommend the contract for approval this evening.”
Of course these are only a few of the highlights discussed at Monday night’s meeting. To watch the full BOE meeting see here.
District Enacts Smartphone Ban and Announces Community Lunch Program at the High School
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As most Scarsdale families are trying to enjoy the last few days of summer vacation, the Scarsdale School district is already hard at work preparing to welcome students back into their folds. Earlier this week, Scarsdale High School Principal Ken Bonamo extended a warm greeting to SHS families in an email which not only highlighted details about “new student orientations” taking place next week, but also important information in regards to some big changes at SHS in the 2025-26 school year.
As returning high school students will remember, at the end of the last school year SHS piloted a “Community Lunch” program which provided all students and faculty a common lunch time. The pilot’s incredible success encouraged SHS to adopt the program fulltime for the upcoming school year. As stated in his welcome letter, Bonamo explained,
“We are fully implementing the new community lunch schedule, in which all students and teachers eat at the same time every day. This change aims to improve energy and focus, strengthen relationships between students and faculty, and create more time for clubs and academic support. The new schedule, which received positive feedback during a pilot program, will be reviewed quarterly by the Schedule Committee for any necessary adjustments.”
Another change comes after a new state law was recently enacted by Governor Hochul requiring statewide, bell-to-bell restrictions on smartphones in K-12 schools. While SHS had already implemented an “Off and Away For The Day” cell phone policy, Bonamo explained the more robust restrictions in his letter:
“In accordance with New York State law and Board of Education policy, students are prohibited from using internet-enabled devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, at any time during the school day. Devices must be turned off and put away, including during lunch and passing time. Violations will lead to escalating consequences. Exceptions will be made for students with documented health or learning needs. Laptops and tablets may still be used for academic purposes, and teachers may authorize limited phone use in class. Lockers are available for storing devices.”
Bonamo also referenced a letter sent by Assistant Principal Christopher Griffin who further detailed the protocols and consequences for students who ignore the new rules. As he explains:
“A student who is using a smartphone or a smartwatch during the school day may be subject to disciplinary action. A student found to be in violation of this policy must give their device to a staff member upon request. The staff member will bring the device to the assistant principals’ office. For the first violation of the ban, the assistant principal will return the device to the
student at the end of the day with a warning. After a second violation, the student’s parent or guardian will be required to come to the school to retrieve the device. If there is another violation, the parent will have to retrieve the device and the student will serve two detentions. If the student continues to violate the policy, the school may require additional disciplinary consequences as outlined in our code of conduct.”
While students can’t use their devices to access things like social media during the school day, Mr. Griffin went on to describe that, “Tablets and laptop computers, which are internet-enabled, are often used by students during the school day to complete school work. Unless otherwise restricted by administration, students may use these devices on school grounds to complete academic assignments.”
Griffin ended his letter with the recognition that, “We understand that this will be a significant cultural change at the school. We are hopeful and optimistic that we can establish a climate where students are not distracted by their cell phones and smartwatches so as to better focus on their learning. If you have any questions or thoughts about the implementation of the new law, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you in advance for your support.”
Though these are certainly significant changes for SHS students, many are expecting the shifts to have an incredibly positive impact on the school’s culture and strengthen its community in a variety of beneficial ways. For more information on the new New York State “Bell to Bell” law, see here.
SHS Class of 1985 40th Reunion
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The Scarsdale High School Class of 1985 will hold their 40th reunion on Saturday October, 25, 2025. from 6-9 pm at Chat, 1 Christie Place in Scarsdale.
Here's information from your classmates:
It’s hard to believe, but our 40th reunion is happening October 2025—and we’re planning a full weekend of fun!
📍 Friday: Tour of SHS, possible football game, happy hour
🎶 Saturday: Main reunion event + after-party with live music from a classmate’s band
🥂 Sunday: “Until Next Time” farewell brunch
We had an amazing time at our 30th in 2015, and we’re expecting around 150 out of our 400 classmates this time!
Not on the list yet?
Join the conversation on Facebook: Scarsdale High School: Class of 1985 or RSVP to the link below.
Let’s make this one to remember! ♥️🤍
#SHS1985 #40YearReunion
Click here for more information
