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Published: 15 February 2013

Created: 15 February 2013

Last Updated: 20 March 2013

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Superintendent of Scarsdale Schools Dr. Michael McGill came back to the Board of Educationon Wednesday 2-13 with revisions to the administration's proposed budget, resulting in a decrease in the proposed tax levy increase from 6.88% to 4.94%. Wednesday night's meeting was the fourth in a series of meetings where the school administration presented its proposed budget for the 2013-2014 school year. Prior to the last meeting, the Board of Education had asked the administration to go back into their numbers and find places to cut $2 million from the proposed budget.

Notable changes from prior proposals include a decrease in the health insurance budget, and increase in funds drawn from the fund surplus, and a change in funding of the proposed wellness center, with the suggestion made by McGill that funds be drawn from the repair reserve fund, a budget line that can only be used for capital improvements. Funding for the wellness center will also come from money included in last year's budget for renovating the existing fitness center, which was never done, and also from money included in a prior year's budget for converting the auto shop in the high school into a multi-use space; also not completed this year. One cut to the Wellness Center plans was suggested as a means to making project financially feasible – a proposed "classroom of the future", included in the initial plans, would be shelved for the time being.

Another noteworthy change from the initial proposal was the removal of funding for six greeters spread among the elementary schools and middle school. Initially proposed as a way to increase security at these schools, cutting these positions created a savings of $256,000 in the proposed budget. McGill said that technology available today, including systems currently in use in the elementary schools, made the greeters unnecessary, and that the administration is looking into less costly solutions The proposal for greeters at the high school still remains, and security at the middle school is still under discussion. Additional savings came from cutting 8.5 additional staff positions, including 2 positions at the high school, 1 undesignated elementary school position, and 2 technology positions. The remaining 3.5 positions were reduced by attrition, 1.5 of which are from the Special Education department, 1 of which is a SHS librarian and the other of which is an SMS librarian.

The Board of Education will present its preliminary budget at the Board's next regularly scheduled meeting at 8:00pm, March 4 in Room 172 at Scarsdale High School. The final budget will be formally adopted at the Board's meeting on Monday, April 22 at 8:00pm in Room 172 at SHS, and the community will vote on the budget on Tuesday, May 21 in the Middle School Gyms.

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Published: 11 February 2013

Created: 11 February 2013

Last Updated: 11 February 2013

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On February 6, the Scarsdale Board of Education held their second budget study session to review the proposed 2013-2014 Scarsdale school budget. The proposed budget calls for a 4.52% increase over the 2012-13 budget, and a 6.88% tax increase, the highest in years. Although more than 75% of the budget increase is due to increases in retirement and health care costs, the Board continued going line by line through the budget in its second meeting, discussing additions and looking for savings.

On the table was the proposed addition of a Mandarin teacher in the middle school. Originally proposed for the 2008-2009 budget, it was turned down due to the recession and had not been considered again until now. Superintendent Michael McGill discussed the proposal with the ultimate goal of creating "a really robust world language program for the 21st century." Responding to questions by Board members about the timing of the addition, McGill asked, "if not now, then when?" Board members also brought up concerns that Mandarin is a "boom language" like Japanese and Russian were in the past. Though no final decision was made, in an informal show of hands, most members voted "no" to the proposal, saying that while the idea should be proposed again next year, now is not the right time.

Also on the agenda was a discussion of a $62,000 increase in the cost of textbooks, primarily due to the Singapore Math program. According to Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lynne Shain, "All six elementary grades, K-5, use the Singapore Math program. Each student needs a workbook and extra practice book at $39.00 per student per year. For 2013-14 we project 2117 elementary students. There is a $62,000 increase in the textbook line in our proposed budget, some for Singapore Math, but also for projected text purchases in other subject areas."

Usually the Board allows teachers to decide which textbooks to use, but because of the high cost of these books, the Board deemed it necessary to discuss the increase. Though the administration looked into cutting costs by using online textbooks and workbooks, it was clear that the only savings would come in negotiations with Singapore Math.

Board members were unhappy with the increase and one likened the situation to going to a mechanic, finding out there is a dubious problem with a car's brakes and fixing it only because children ride in the car. However, the administration answered that if the increase is not approved, students will not have textbooks next year and that the Singapore Math Program has been well received and a switch in the math program could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An ongoing discussion over funding for the Center of Innovation continued during the meeting. Last year, $100,000 was set aside for the program to "re-imagine teaching and learning, develop new models of instruction, explore the role of technology in transforming instruction, and to foster widespread change, beyond a single classroom or teacher." The money itself is meant to fund, "teacher project proposals, consultants, speakers, conference, and site visit expenses". To date, nine proposals out of twelve proposals have been approved and funded.

Board members expressed varied opinions on the progress of the program. Jonathan Lewis proposed that the committee provide grants to not only teachers, but also to other men and women involved in the Scarsdale education process. Lewis Leone worried that the program was not yet ready for the spotlight, though it is set to be showcased at a National Leadership Forum in upcoming months. A few members also expressed disappointment with the limited purview of what is being proposed. However, Superintendent McGill urged that the Center be given more time before it is reviewed, as the first proposals were only funded in the past two months.

To close the meeting, a presentation was made on the technology budget. The presentation made clear that the technology departments across the district operate with limited staffing and proposed the addition of a network specialist and computer technician at each level so that computer teachers can focus on teaching, rather than on fixing problems with the system. The presentation also discussed the implications of providing wireless access throughout the high school as well as the purchase of new wireless devices on all levels.

The third of four work-study meetings will be held Monday February 11 and the final meeting will be held Wednesday February 13.

This article was contributed by Brian Solender, a senior at Scarsdale High School, and a former reporter, assistant editor and sports editor for the Maroon.

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Published: 07 February 2013

Created: 07 February 2013

Last Updated: 07 February 2013

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The Scarsdale School administration put forth their preliminary budget for 2013-14, and the picture's not pretty. If these numbers hold, Scarsdale taxpayers could see the highest tax increase in years, with the current projection at almost 7%. To put that figure in perspective, in 2012-13, taxes rose 3.39% for Scarsdale residents, about half of the projected increase for the coming year.

The administration's 2013-14 budget calls for a 4.52% budget increase over 2012-13 and a tax increase of 6.88%. The proposed increases are driven by a 37% increase in mandated payments to the NYS pension and teacher's retirement fund as well as a reduction in the amount of surplus that will be applied to the 2013-14 budget.

The budget is now projected to climb from $141,790,570 in 2012-13 to $148,201,813 in 2013-14. 56.9% of that increase is due to the district's increased payment to the Teacher Retirement System and Employee Retirement System mandated by New York State. In addition, another 16.1% of the increase is due to higher costs for the health care plan.

In previous years, the Board used surplus funds to temper these increases. For the 2012-13 budget, $6,313,598 of surplus was applied to the budget. However, last year the board made a policy decision to reduce reliance on surplus funds in the future. Therefore, the 2013-14 budget includes $4,000,000 in surplus. Also under discussion is the use of another $500,000 in surplus funds to cover an even greater contribution to the Teacher Retirement System that the district only learned about on February 1.

The budget is not without some new additions, and here are a few that were discussed at the February 4, 2013 Board of Education meeting.

Due to a large incoming freshman class at Scarsdale High School, enrollment at the high school is projected to increase by 89 students, from 1,453 to 1,542 students. To accommodate the larger student body, three new high school teachers will be needed to teach English, Social Studies and Science. However, enrollment at the elementary schools is expected to decrease by 15 students, and the student population in grades 6 through 8 is expected to go down by 32 students. At the middle school, the district proposes hiring a language instructor to teach Mandarin so that the Mandarin program now at the high school can be extended into the lower grades.

In addition to the three new teachers, the administration is proposing to hire four new technology staffers to assist with the school's growing use of technology and computers in all of the district's schools. Another new staff member is proposed for the central administration where $89,000 has been added to the budget to hire a communications officer to handle the district's website, social media and media engagement.

In response to the shootings at Newtown, parents have called for heightened security at district schools. Under consideration for 2013-14 are new locks on all classroom doors that will allow teachers to lock the doors from the inside of the classroom. At Greenacres Elementary School, the office will be moved so that it is located next to the entrance to the school, allowing school personnel to monitor visitors to the school. Also recommended are the addition of official greeters at the five elementary schools and at the middle school. At the high school, where there are many entrances, three greeters would be added to the staff.

In order to pass a budget that exceeds the 2% NYS tax cap, the community would need to pass the budget by a supermajority of 60%. Since the state allows the district to exclude certain cost increases from the cap, after taking away these allowables, the tax cap for Scarsdale would be an increase above 3.6%.

Also under discussion at the meeting were renovations to the high school. In last year's budget, $350,000 was approved to renovate the high school's fitness center, an item that has been considered since 2008. However, after the Board requested a long-range plan for future needs and the Scarsdale Education for Tomorrow, administrators called in architect Peter Gisolfi this summer. Gisolfi worked with physical education and athletics' staff on a plan to relocate the fitness center and build a wellness center underneath the gym. This space is larger and more open and the architects felt it would better accommodate the school's educational needs. It is in closer proximity to the locker rooms, the gym and the outdoors and they suggested it would be easier to supervise than the existing fitness center.

According to Linda Purvis, the renovation of the existing fitness center would be limited by the "c-shaped configuration of the space" and the presence of stairwells and supporting walls that would make it difficult to design a large open space. However, since the space underneath the gymnasium is currently unfinished, it would require extensive renovation including the addition of wiring, heating and ventilation. The total tab for the new fitness center and glass classroom is estimated at $1,200,000 rather than the original $350,000.

To pay for it, the administration proposes to use the $350,000 from this year's budget as well as funds that were allocated to transform the existing auto body shop into a satellite cafeteria.

So now the Board of Education will need to decide whether or not they want to spend $1.2 million on the Wellness Center and will also need to come up with solutions for cafeteria services for the expanded student body that is expected at SHS next year.

The Board held a second Budget Study Session on Wednesday night February 6 and plans two more for Monday February 11 and Wednesday February 13, both at 6:30 pm at the Board of Education room at Scarsdale High School.

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Published: 29 January 2013

Created: 29 January 2013

Last Updated: 01 February 2013

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New York State is taking its testing mandates one step further: now in addition to requiring the district to administer additional tests at many grade levels, they are requiring the school districts to purchase computers and improve wireless access to accommodate simultaneous test-taking for up to 1,000 students at a time.

The new directives, issued by Ken Wagner of the NYS Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Educational Technology, were sent out to superintendents in January, 2013 to "give guidance on the purchase of the technology devices, infrastructure, and broadband connectivity that support personalized learning, the implementation of the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS), and computer-based testing (CBT).

The memo explains that the state will soon release the next generation of tests and these assessments will be designed for "computer-based" administration." In order to accommodate their new program, the district has been ordered to purchase enough computers to "administer a computer based assessment simultaneously to all students in a single tested grade within an elementary, middle, or high school grade span (i.e., Grades 3-5 or 6-8 or 9-12). Districts like Scarsdale should have sufficient devices to test several grade simultaneously. Currently Scarsdale, like many surrounding districts, does not have enough devices to test several grades at one time, but the district is reviewing its hardware purchasing plans based on the NYSED memo. Of course, the actual purchase of hardware will depend on the school budget.

The devices must have the capability to support security requirements during testing, and be able to go into "lock down" mode so that students cannot access the internet or send emails while they are taking exams.

The goal is to purchase the mobile devices in time to be ready for the testing plan during the 2014-15 school year – just eighteen months from now.

According to Jerry Crisci, Director of Technology for the Scarsdale Schools, the state will not provide the district any funding for the new devices. The federal government has also weighed in on new learning methodologies and Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education has called for the transition from textbooks to digital content, saying, "Over the next few years, textbooks should be obsolete." Duncan has set the 2017 as a goal for replacing textbooks with digital devices. Scarsdale does not have specific plans for replacing textbooks, but the District is looking at options as their technology plan evolves. However, at a time of tight budgets and a state-imposed 2% tax cap, it will be interesting to see how cash-strapped school districts will come up with funds to purchase laptops for the entire student body.

In Scarsdale, the goal is to have every middle school and high school student equipped with a laptop by 2017. That means that the district could have to purchase 2,800 laptops, specially equipped to meet the state's testing requirements. Though no purchase decisions have been made, the district would need to purchase computers with security features for testing and buy equipment that can be serviced and updated by the school.

Hypothetically, at a cost of $1,000 each, the equipment alone could cost $2,800,000 – and that does not include funds for tech support and replacement of lost or broken equipment. According to Crisci, Scarsdale is planning a significant increase in the number of mobile devices to be purchased in the coming years.

In response to increased mandated state testing and a new state requirements for a teacher evaluation system that partially judges teachers on the results of their students standardized test results, the Scarsdale Board of Education drafted and passed a statement on their values at the BOE Meeting on January 23, 2013. The statement, titled, Scarsdale Values Educational Excellence and Standards of Excellence,  comments on the reliance of test results as measures of educational success, saying:

Current national and state policies feature "one-size-fits-all" reforms that do not recognize local needs and undermine local strengths. In assessing students' growth, teachers should consider both test results and other evidence of student learning. Statistics should inform human judgment rather than prevail over it.

Research raises serious concerns about high-stakes testing. Such testing can be unduly costly in terms of student and staff time, energy and money. It can lead to an over-emphasis on imperfect measures whose results have limited meaning. It invites misjudgment of student and teacher performance and causes distortion in curriculum. These consequences lead to flawed educational decisions, and they degrade the quality of learning.

What do you think? Should the state be permitted to mandate more tests for Scarsdale students and should the district be required to evaluate teachers based on the test results of their students? On the mandated move to purchase laptops for all students, would you be willing to pay for your child's computer or do you think it's up to the district to fund the new technology?

Please click here to respond to our survey.