Colleen Brown, Suzie Hahn Pascutti and Ron Schulhof Selected by 2022 Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee
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Colleen BrownSchool Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) Co-Chairs Seema Jaggi and Amy Schiff announced that the 2022 SBNC has selected Quaker Ridge residents Colleen Brown, Suzie Hahn Pascutti and Ron Schulhof for the 2022 non-partisan slate for election to the Scarsdale Board of Education. If elected on May 17, 2022, Brown and Hahn will assume their roles as first term school board members and Ron Schulhof will return for his second term effective July 1, 2022.
Here is an announcement from the co-chairs, released on Monday March 20, 2022
The SBNC is a non-partisan committee comprised of 30 voting members (six from each of the five elementary districts) who serve for three year terms, and three non-voting members. Over the course of Sunday meetings from January through March, this year’s committee conducted extensive candidate outreach to encourage interested community members to apply, listened to applicant presentations, questioned them in the new interview format, conducted detailed due diligence on all applicants and considered potential candidates’ qualifications and characteristics. Pursuant to the SBNC Resolution, committee deliberations concerning candidates are confidential and the SBNC selects candidates “solely on their qualifications to serve the community” and not on their campaigning abilities or positions on specific issues. Informed and engaged residents willing to serve on the SBNC and the School Board, along with voter participation, help to ensure the highest quality school board leadership.
The SBNC congratulates the 2022 nominees and thanks all applicants who went through the nominating process. “We thank the SBNC, all applicants, and the Scarsdale community for their commitment to the Scarsdale School system and educational excellence,” noted Seema Jaggi and Amy Schiff, 2022 SBNC Co-Chairs.
Please remember to vote on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 in the school board election, the same day as the 2022-2023 school budget vote. For more information on the SBNC, including the governing Resolution, or to donate and support our system, please visit our website at http://scarsdalesbnc.com or contact the SBNC Chair.
Colleen Brown
Colleen Brown has volunteered extensively in the community and has held many leadership roles. At QRS, over the years she was very involved in the school and some of the key roles she volunteered for were the Co-Chair of the “Learning From our Differences Program”, a QRS PTA Executive Council Member, a PTC Executive Member and last but not least, President of the QRS PTA. She has worked extensively with the many stakeholders in the community including parents, teachers, PTA leaders in other schools, QRS administration, District administration and the School Board. In all of these roles Colleen was a steadfast, and a strong leader. She succeeds in her roles by being an excellent listener, a great collaborator, a creative problem solver – who is able to bring out the best in all of those around her. When you spend time with Colleen her kindness, thoughtfulness and professionalism is contagious.
Aside from her volunteer activities at QRS Colleen served on the SBNC from 2016-2019 and she was also the SBNC Administrative Council Co-Chair from 2019-2021. In her roles with the SBNC, as all of you here can imagine, Colleen has become very familiar with the qualities that the community looks for in School Board Members and the commitment required of those on the School Board.
Prior to moving to Scarsdale, Colleen worked for 10 years at the Leman Manhattan Preparatory School which is currently a private K-12 school in lower Manhattan. When Colleen started at the school in 2006, it was a brand-new school built from scratch serving the K-5 student population. In its first year, the school had 54 students enrolled and when she left the school 10 years later it had over 600 students.
She initially was hired as the Director of Wellness, Nutrition and Food Service to develop the wellness curriculum as the school took a holistic approach to child education. The curriculum she developed was for grades 1 – 8 and included nutrition education and social/emotional/physical curriculum. She was a classroom teacher in this area for four years. She was also a classroom teacher for Science grades 5-8.
After a number of years Colleen moved into administrative roles and was the 6th Grade Dean, the Interim Assistant Head of the Middle School and lastly the Assistant Head of the Upper School. At the time that she left the school to move to Scarsdale she had been offered the position of Head of the Upper School. In these roles she tackled things such as new grading systems, implementation of new homework policies, math curriculum review, new teacher evaluation system, addressing parent and teacher concerns, parent communication, teacher support, implementation of I-Pad program, hiring and training new faculty, scheduling, facility planning, development and integration of boarding program and much more.
Colleen was on the hiring committees which selected multiple administrators including the Head of School (equivalent to Superintendent), the Head of the High School and many Division Heads. She was very involved in the interview and selection process for these hires.
The school faced re-development of the math curriculum, the debate of AT vs. AP classes, DEI Curriculum. The school served a diverse population from many different areas and countries and had to create a strong support system particularly for the students who boarded at the school. Colleen oversaw the implementation of the international baccalaureate diploma program as the high school transitioned away from the standard high school diploma to a diploma recognized in many countries.
Colleen throughout her professional and personal life has been passionate about education, the welfare of children and contributing to the community that she is a part of. She would bring to the School Board her dedication and professionalism. She would enthusiastically embrace the challenges ahead of her and would contribute the important perspective to board activities as a parent and as a former educator / school administrator.
Suzie Hahn Pascutti
Suzi Hahn Pascutti
As a Scarsdale resident for over 11 years, it is evident from her long and continuous list of accomplishments that Suzie Hahn Pascutti does not shy away from opportunities to contribute to our District. Suzie has worn a plethora of hats in various volunteering efforts over her 8 year tenure, including Quaker Ridge After School Clubs Chair and Quaker Ridge PTA President. She then went on to serve as Scarsdale PT Council Treasurer for two years, overseeing all aspects of training and guiding all the Scarsdale unit PTAs in matters of its fiduciary responsibilities. She has also served as PT Council’s Directory Chair and serves as Webmaster for Scarsdale Middle School where she is also on the Compact Committee.
Suzie has served on many committees at the District level including the Building Committee for the 2018 Bond, Code of Conduct review, and various budget, nominating and search committees, uniquely positioning her with first-hand knowledge and experience that would be instrumental in the evaluation of and/or onboarding a new superintendent to Scarsdale over the next 3 years.
As part of the League of Women Voters, she is in her second year as School Portfolio Chair, covering the school budget in great detail, posing questions to the Administration and Board of Education on numerous occasions, and leading the League’s School Budget General Information Meeting. Her responsibilities also include leading the League Board’s School Budget Consensus Meeting and drafting and presenting to the Board of Education the League’s Consensus Statement with its position on the Budget. Suzie is well-versed in all aspects of the school budget, having studied it over the span of many years.
Suzie’s financial and analytical skills were developed in her professional experience at D.E. Shaw & Co., where she went to work shortly after graduating from Harvard College. Over her 11 year career at the hedge fund, she was promoted to Managing Director and Head of the U.S. Convertibles Trading Desk. These credentials would serve an asset as a potential Board of Education member, providing our sitting members with her financial acumen for the critical board tasks of budget evaluation on behalf of the community.
Aside from her current treasury and budget-related volunteer roles, Suzie also serves on the Boards of Hoff-Barthelson Music School on the Development Committee and is Vice-President of Friends of Music and Arts.
Ron Schulhof
Ron SchulhofRon Schulhof has been a resident of Scarsdale for 8 years. His commitment to this role on the Board of Ed is exemplified by the number of liaison assignments he has taken and by his active participation during board meetings. Ron is a huge proponent of community engagement and his actions back up his words. He has spent countless hours on the phone with village constituents and truly values their input, acknowledges their concerns and works to find solutions for the problems we face.
In addition to serving on the Scarsdale Forum and holding a number of School Volunteer positions including his participation on Sustainability Committees and Mentoring Committees, Ron also volunteers as a Basketball Coach every winter and a Little League Baseball coach every spring. Beyond his formal coaching, Ron is constantly organizing group games and events for the neighborhood kids. In all of these endeavors, from the BOE to the ad-hoc Crossway flag football games, Ron is motivating, innovative and encouraging.
Five years ago, Ron, along with Michelle Sterling, partnered with the Village Board and started the first food scrap recycling program in all of Westchester. They began the program in the schools, working with the administration, principals, teachers, custodians and aides. They then moved on to houses of worship and ultimately took it into individual homes. Our town was the first to have a program of this kind and it became a model for other communities.
Ron already brings many strengths to the Scarsdale Board of Education. He is extremely dedicated to our community and our children. He spends numerous hours each week getting up to speed on any issues that will be addressed during School Board meetings and is always thoughtful in the points he raises and the questions he poses. Ron has proven over and over that he has the dedication, focus, motivation and drive to be an effective member of our Board of Education.
Inquiries should be emailed to [email protected].
District Technology Chief Jerry Crisci Wins Prestigious Award on the Eve of his Retirement
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Jerry Crisci, the Director of Instructional Technology for the Scarsdale Schools has been awarded the 2022 LHRIC TELL Award for Outstanding Innovative Leader by the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center of Southern Westchester BOCES.
Recipients of this award have demonstrated an outstanding, innovative, or strategic approach to technology integration in their district. The award is given to individuals who continually demonstrate innovation, showcase best practices and implement systemic change in teaching and learning. Winners are nominated by their colleagues and peers.
Ever modest, when asked to comment on the news, Crisci threw the light onto his team and the entire district. He said, “Everything we do is about us as a team. Everyone was responsible for the technology – from the custodial staff to the teachers and the technology team. I have worked with Rachel Moseley (Director of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer) for years and she does incredible work. I could not have accomplished what I did without their support.” In fact, the team worked overtime – and behind the scenes – to build a website that supported the application for the award.
He continued, “I will say I did work hard and put in many late hours. But most of all, I hired really well.”
Crisici, who will retire after 32 years in June, started his career in Scarsdale as the lone elementary school computer teacher. He travelled around the district, working at each elementary school one day a week where each school had a computer labs housed with Apple 2E computers. He taught third through fifth graders word processing, logo design and implemented some programs around the curriculum.
The biggest shifts in district technology occurred when students were given their own devices in place of the desk top machines that were not networked. Now students in grades K-8 receive a district supplied Chrome Book, which are also available to high school students upon request. Once the world wide web emerged in the 1990’s, the district was able to network their systems, which was a revolutionary change in learning and systems.
Crisci believes he is leaving the district in a good place in terms of its technology and that there is adequate funding for everything that is needed. What else can be done? Crisci says, “In an ideal world, teachers would have more time for professional development so they could maximize their use of available technology.” But with the rollout of a new math and science program there is competition for their time.
This year the district will strive to fill gaps in Wifi coverage in the hallways, in the parking lot and fields around the school. They are planning to do a heat map to identify areas that need better service and will install equipment to ensure better communication.
Crisci is most proud of the Center for Innovation which he developed ten years ago with Assistant Superintendent Lynne Shain. This program provided mini-grants to teachers for innovation, and many forward thinking projects were funded and developed over the past decade. A new website highlighting the program’s history is under development and the Center for Innovation will live on after Crisci’s retirement.
Both Crisci and Rachel Moseley will retire this year and the two will be replaced with three staffers. A search committee is in place to seek out candidates for a Director of Technology, a Technology Coordinator for instructional learning and another team member to focus on data.
What will Crisci miss when he leaves the district? Without hesitating he said, “I will miss the students, the staff, the community and the Board members. This has been my entire life.”
Here is the announcement from the district about Crisci’s award:
The Scarsdale Public School’s Director of Instructional Technology Jerry Crisci has been awarded the 2022 LHRIC TELL Award for Outstanding Innovative Leader by the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center of Southern Westchester BOCES.
Recipients of this heralded LHRIC award have demonstrated an outstanding, innovative, or strategic approach to technology integration in their district. The prestigious awards are given to individuals who continually demonstrate innovation, showcase best practices and implement systemic change in teaching and learning. Winners are nominated by their colleagues and peers.
Crisci will retire in June following a 30+ year career which saw him rise from an elementary school computer teacher to the head of one of the most innovative K-12 instructional technology programs in the nation. He was nominated by his instructional technology team, who collaborated not just on the award application, but also on a website to support their application. Together, they described him as a pioneer and innovator who built a powerful framework for sustaining innovation, which will thrive long after he leaves Scarsdale.
“Long ago, Jerry Crisci saw the future of classroom technology before it was clear to anyone else in our district or the Hudson Valley Region. But he didn’t impose his vision on the community or demand large expenditures for equipment and infrastructure. Jerry is the type of forward-thinking leader who can entice others to dream big and innovate,” they wrote. “He started small, creating successful experiences so that the abstract concept of classroom computing became more clear. With each small-scale model, he was able to help members of administration, faculty, and the parent community imagine the potential for classroom learning and instruction with technology. Jerry repeated the process through the years, allowing us all to see how the application of technology in the classroom has evolved to become an essential tool for teaching and learning. His patient approach and belief in the transformational possibilities of technology set in motion the program we have today.”
His forward-thinking approach led him to become a creator and founding member of the New York Technology Educators Network, and co-founder of Scarsdale’s Center for Innovation. The CFI is focused on reimagining education as we know it, with grants and opportunities for teachers to rethink their instructional practices, and develop, nurture and provide feedback for innovative ideas related to teaching and learning. The CFI also invites cutting-edge speakers to work with Scarsdale faculty, to stir their imagination about what is possible.
“Jerry is an innovator in the truest sense of the word,” said Dr. Thomas Hagerman, Scarsdale Schools Superintendent. “The Center for Innovation has helped our outstanding faculty to push the boundaries of what they thought was possible and achieve even greater results. It is a singular model of what is possible in a K-12 environment and beyond.”
Dr. Edgar McIntosh, co-director of the Center for Innovation also praised Crisci’s work: “Jerry created more than a team, he created a culture of curiosity, of in-depth technical knowledge amongst instructional staff, and of a desire to define what’s possible,” McIntosh said. “He has expanded the thinking and learning of countless adults and students. He will be dearly missed.”
Parents Ask the Board to Fund Renovation of SHS Auditorium
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The proposed 2022-23 school budget is moving toward approval by the Board and community. The primary change for next year will be the addition of ten full time employees, primarily to address student mental health needs at all grade levels.
As of Monday March 7, the proposed budget would be 3.85% higher than the previous year, translating to a 2.43% increase for Scarsdale residents and 3.68% for those in the Mamaroneck strip. The total projected budget for 2022-23 is $173,291,393.
Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey warned that these are volatile times, and said that the budget includes $500,000 in contingency funds originally designated for COVID expenses but not to be put aside for general expenses such as unexpected increases in utility costs.
Parents will be pleased to know that the budget includes funds to improve Wifi service in and around the schools, so that parents, students and visitors will be able to connect inside and outside the schools. Specifically, the technology budget will be “increased one-time to pay for a comprehensive WiFi coverage analysis of all building. The analysis will produce “heat maps” which will inform the team of “dead spots” where students, staff, or visitors cannot connect to the WiFi networks. The increase will also provide the necessary funding to install additional WiFi access points to remedy the "dead spots.”
Though much of the district’s infrastructure was updated with funding from the 2014 and 2018 bonds, Mattey explained that several new projects would be funded with $630,000 in plant improvements. Most of these funds will be used to replace aging condensate pumps at Edgewood, the Middle School and the High School, for an LED lighting upgrade in the Fox Meadow Library and a new entrance ramp at the Scarsdale Alternative School. The Heathcote Elementary School Office will be replaced at a cost of $485,000.
SHS Auditorium
However one project that has been delayed for many years is the renovation of the Scarsdale High School Auditorium. Funding for the project was included in the 2014 bond but was delayed when the cost of other projects came in higher than anticipated. In the 2020-21 budget $700,000 was allocated and it was spent on stage rigging, the sound system, electrical and theatrical wiring upgrades, storage, painting backstage lighting and motorized winches.
Mattey said that water infiltration from the courtyard continues to be an issue in the auditorium. This needs to be addressed and will require a substantial investment.
Another $485,000 for additional work on the lighting and wiring was also allocated and Mattey said project bids were opened and this work can be done in the summer.
However, the school’s new theater director David Graybill has identified additional acoustical gaps and the auditorium seating, carpeting and stage flooring still need to be replaced. The estimated cost is $1.5- $1.7 million. Given this new information, Mattey recommended putting off the work until the 2023-24 budget, ten years after it was originally proposed.
Commenting on his recommendation, Laura Gelblum and Diane Greenwald from the Scarsdale Friends of Music and Arts in the Schools read the following statement at the Board of Education meeting:
Thank you to the administration and Board for the comprehensive budget study session at 6pm tonight, and our gratitude especially to Stuart Mattey for working with us.
As the nonprofit parent booster group supporting visual and performing arts in Scarsdale schools, FMA believes arts education provides opportunities for students to connect, find self-expression, and cultivate well-being. Commitment to and investment in arts education has been, is and should always be central to any Scarsdale educational program, especially one focused on the whole child.
FMA hopes that the Board and administration will reconsider the current budget recommendation to delay auditorium improvements and approve a remaining scope of work with a heightened sense of process and urgency. We strongly prefer including funds for next phase improvements in the 2022-23 school budget.
The auditorium work was originally approved by a town-wide referendum for $1M—a community mandate to prioritize the work—but has been delayed for nearly a decade. While the auditorium project has waited, millions of dollars of district capital improvements for other projects have been prioritized, funded and completed.
Last year, the Board considered funding the remaining auditorium work but ultimately approved a 2nd phase (Phase 2A), leaving the remainder to be scoped out this year. The theater review/audit and acoustic study undertaken this year were helpful steps, but the process still has not included input from key faculty and other stakeholders and, importantly, there’s been no timeline for developing and pricing the scope of remaining work. Dr. Graybill, the new Theatre Tech Director, has been a terrific addition to the team and has brought some exciting ideas to the table, including potentially looking into ways to improve sightlines to performers in the back of orchestra and band ensembles, and ways to address student-requested maintenance and updated video monitors in the Orchestra Pit. We’d like to see these ideas explored and rough-priced now to determine if they can be included in the next scope of work, covered by the performing arts department budget, or if FMA could help fundraise for these upgrades.
Additionally, since the most recent work came in approximately $100K under budget, we hope that savings are being returned to performing arts student needs.
Our concerns about delaying the renovation:
No guarantee that funds for 2023-24 will be approved for remaining work.
Slating auditorium renovations to the 2023-24 budget would delay actual work to 2025—11 years after the 2014 bond.
The auditorium renovation delay also delays improvements needed for other performing arts facilities, like the SHS Little Theater. During the committee review leading up to the 2014 Bond, the auditorium was prioritized over the Little Theater, which also needs renovation to address the need for a smaller performance and multi-purpose space and to expand programming for students.
FMA is grateful to have been included in auditorium committee discussions. Nonetheless, FMA does not feel the budget recommendation aligns with community values or sufficiently serves students. We request a reconsideration and creative solutions that might move the work into the 2022-23 budget.
Thank you for your time here tonight and for sharing our love of arts education, which in many ways is mental health care, a district priority. Art is the place where possibility lives and we are optimistic for a bright future.
Here are some other items of interest from the March 7 Board of Education meeting:
COVID:
There have been 20 COVID cases reported since students returned from break – all at the high school. The district plans to move away from PCR saliva testing to antigen tests, of which they have an ample supply.
Given the new numbers, the district will reopen the gym at Heathcote, even though it has no ventitalion, for single class use.
During lunch, kids care permitted to sit at the same tables and to be unmasked. The district has found it challenging to hire staff for the cafeterias, so for the balance of this year no hot lunches will be available. They hope to reinstate hot lunch in September.
What about hot lunch? We don’t hav ethe staff to bring them into the elementary school cafeterias. Very challenging – so for now, cold lunch.
School and Classroom Libraries
Assistant Superintendent Edgar McIntosch said that the district has done an audit of all books to make sure they represent a diverse perspective. While doing this work, the district found that they need more books for kindergarteners and first graders that are easily decodable for early readers. They will purchase these books.
Superintendent Search
Board President Karen Ceske reported on the search for an interim superintendent to replace Dr. Hagerman who will leave the district at the end of the school year. She said that the Board reached out to the community to get their input on the qualifications for an interim superintendent and received 108 responses. They have incorporated this feedback into the job description that will be used to identify an interim leader for the Scarsdale Schools.
Ron Schulhof reported that a board subcommittee comprised of himself, Bob Klein and Jessica Resnick-Ault were working on developing an RFP to select a search firm to seek candidates for the next superintendent of the Scarsdale Schools. He said that they district will issue an RFP, allow up to 8 weeks for responses, and then vet and select a firm.
Scarsdale Raiders Hockey Team Advances to Semifinals in Stellar Season
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The team celebrated victory over Rockland in the quarterfinal.The Scarsdale Hockey team just completed a very successful season, advancing to the league semifinals after defeating Rockland 8-0 in the quarterfinal game on Tuesday February 22, 2022 at Murrays in Tuckahoe.
We caught up with standout skater Brian Nicholas who was on the road to a travel hockey team practice for the New Jersey Avalanche on Tuesday night March 1. A team Captain, along with Freddy Kushnick, Nicholas said that the team had gone farther than they had in the last five years and he was really pleased about the results.
Going into the playoffs, the team’s record was 10-8 and they had a stellar game in the quarterfinals where they were 2-0 at the first quarter, 6-0 at the half and ultimately took the game, shutting Rockland out 8-0.
Here’s how it went down:
Junior and Captain Brian Nicholas: 5 goals and 2 assists
Junior Ian Silberstein: 2 goals and 1 assist
Sophomore Jack Greco: 1 goal and 1 assist
Junior and Co-Captain Freddy Kushnick: 2 assists
Junior Lee Kleinman: 1 assist
Junior Lev Mizukovski : 1 assist
Sophomore Sam Horner: 2 assists
The team’s assistant captains are Sam Horner and Zev Glassman and the team is coached by James Synowiez and John Felix.
Ian Silverstein wins the face off.
After the win over Rockland, the team advanced to the semifinal when they played Suffern on Thursday February 24 at Sport-O-Rama in Ramapo. That proved to be the last game of the season, as the Raiders fell 6-0.
Reflecting on the season, Nicholas said the team received a lot of support as the rink is outdoors and spectators were permitted. However, in December twelve students on the team came down with COVID and the team missed four games. But despite that blow they were able to recover and triumph. In fact, this was the first time they beat rivals Mamaroneck since 2016.
Freddy Kushnick and Kyle Kahn hug Brian Nicholas after he scores his fifth goal of the night.
Nicholas continues to play hockey five days a week with the New Jersey Avalanche and also plays football and golf. However, hockey is clearly his favorite and his plans are already in place for his senior year and college career. He was drafted in the first round last year to the USHL Sioux City Musketeers and he will play full time with Sioux City next year and live there while completing his senior year on line. The next year he is committed to play for University of Michigan.
Commenting on the season, Coach James Synowiez said, "We had a roller-coaster of a season, we ended 11-9 on the year with a couple monumental wins for our program. Our team was able to take down John Jay Cross- River while they were ranked #3 in the state. We also beat Mamaroneck on senior night for the first time since the 2014-2015 season. Beyond that we made it to the section semi-final (first since 2016) and lost to Section 1 champion Suffern who just won the regional championship and will play for the State championship this coming weekend."
Logistically the past two seasons have been very challenging with covid, cancellations, rescheduling etc. For many sports this is difficult, however with hockey and dealing with rinks and ice time it adds another layer to the process.
This was a special group of young men who bought into their roles on the team. They came together to care more about the success of the team than their own. These young men were able to instill a sense of pride in Scarsdale Hockey that we have lacked recently, I am very proud to have had the honor of coaching them.
Most of the boys on the team have been playing together for Scarsdale Youth Hockey since they were Mites (5-6 years old). And while it’s not uncommon for hockey players to move around to different travel teams most of the boys played for SYHA this year and finally arrived to play for their school, which was a long term goal of their youth coaches. Two of the youth hockey coaches who watched these players become stronger and smarter on the ice are the captains’ dads, Scott Kushnick and Steve Nicholas. While the team will miss Brian Nicholas next year, they are only losing four seniors and remaining strong with ten rising seniors looking forward to another successful season together.
Goalie Max Siegel makes a save against North Rockland.
Photos by Jonathan Thaler - see more here:
Succession! School Board President Announces She Will Not Seek a Second Term
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The Scarsdale School community received their second surprise in less than a month on February 14, 2022 when Karen Ceske, the President of the Scarsdale School Board, announced she would not seek a second three-year term on the Scarsdale School Board. She said, “I have people in my family who need my support,” and cited 18 years of volunteer work in Scarsdale including leadership roles on the PTA and the PT Council.
Ceske stepped up to the role of President last July when the Board’s Vice President failed to be re-elected. She was a calm, steady voice during a tumultuous and controversial era.
Her news came just weeks after Scarsdale Schools Superintendent Thomas Hagerman announced his departure in June, which will leave the district without time to conduct a search for his replacement for the 2022-23 school year.
Without these two key players at the helm, the district is in for a transition.
That was the topic of a discussion at the 2-14-22 meeting when the current Board of Education reviewed their options for finding a new 
Superintendent Thomas Hagerman will leave Scarsdale at the end of the school year.superintendent.
The first question was whether to do a search now for a permanent superintendent or to appoint an interim superintendent to lead the district during the 2022-23 year while the board undergoes a formal search.
Board Vice President Amber Yusuf led the conversation and presented the board with their options. She said, “Normally the board writes an RFP for a search firm, interviews and retains a search firm who works with the board to identify candidates. The search firm will work with the entire community to develop a candidate profile and conduct candidate recruitment and vetting.”
However, given the short timeframe, there was consensus that this process would not be possible before Dr. Hagerman’s departure in June.
Jessica Resnick-Ault said, “I feel strongly that we appoint an interim because I think we need significant input from the community and we would not have time to do that before the end of the year. Many candidates will be locked into positions now. We would not get a fulsome slate of candidates.
Bob Klein said, “I second Jessica – we want to have adequate time to search.”
Jim Dugan agreed, saying, “This is an important decision for Scarsdale – I think it may take some time to locate the best qualified candidates. It is not likely we would find a permanent replacement by June. I think we should appoint an interim.”
Carl Finger said, “ I agree – it would be virtually impossible for us to get someone by June.”
Ron Schulhof and Karen Ceske concurred.
The discussion then turned to the search for an interim superintendent and what level of community engagement was feasible?
After much back and forth about a questionnaire, a survey, a forum or a call for comments via email, the group coalesced around a community letter from the Board President and Vice President. The letter would define the characteristics of the interim superintendent, the board’s process for retaining and interim and invite anyone to send comments.
Karen Ceske said, “I think it will be pretty clear what we’re looking for in an interim. The board can just lay it out. We could just ask for people to email us their thoughts.”
The Board agreed that Karen Ceske and Amber Yusuf would draft a letter to the community outlining board priorities for the interim superintendent and asking for feedback. The letter will announce the board’s decision to appoint an interim and to conduct a national search for the next superintendent and will invite feedback.
