League Reviews School Budget Choices for 2011-12
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The League of Women Voters met with representatives of the Scarsdale School Board and the administration to review the proposed school budget for 2011-12 on March 21.
In past years, school budget announcements would include a list of new initiatives, programs and improved facilities… but in recent years discussion has revolved around what’s still funded and what had to go. The current proposed budget includes 10% in cuts to non-salary items but continues support for curriculum and includes a new Mandarin language program in the high school. Overall budget growth is now projected to be 2.85% over the 2010-11 school budget but would translate to a 5% tax increase. It projects the loss of 4.85 positions with the addition of 1.7 positions for the new Mandarin program. In addition, the budget allows for two undesignated teaching positions for teachers who will be hired to meet the needs of the district when enrollment numbers for next year are finalized.
At the budget forum, League members posed questions to the Board and Administration and the first one dealt with school budget reserves. Linda Purvis let the group know that in a survey of 14 Westchester school districts Scarsdale had lower reserves than average and maintains less than the legal maximum of 4% of the budget in reserve. At the end of last year the district applied $6.4 million in reserves to the 2010-11 budget and this year they plan to apply $6.9 million to the budget, leaving $5.1 million in reserve. This is necessary because there are unknowns due to the self insured health plan and tax grievances.
The conversation then turned to maintenance issues since the budget for facilities maintenance and repairs has fallen 50% in the last four years. The League wanted to know what work needed to be done but will not be done due to budget cuts. Purvis reported that there are about $4 million in projects that will need to be addressed in the new few years. This year, rather than paint the trim on three schools they are only painting two. Though there are many broken seats in the high school auditorium, the budget does not allow for $200,000 to purchase new seats. In addition, the High School fitness center needs to be renovated but they have not been able to undertake this project. The ventilation systems in several elementary school gyms need replacement, so this year they will replace the system at Fox Meadow but could not undertake a new ventilation system at Edgewood.
On collective bargaining and the teacher’s contract, Superintendant McGill said, “We pay teachers well relative to other districts in the state and the country. Our talent pool is well above the average, and Scarsdale teachers are willing to do more and spend extra time with students during the day. District teachers now recognize that we cannot continue to be ahead of the curve in terms of salaries. The leadership is not looking to outstrip salaries in other districts.”
He added that “Last year in Westchester, there was an overall average increase in salary for teachers of 2.5% . It was not 0%.” Negotiations will begin for the next contract in the spring of 2013 and the administration will strive to balance between reining in costs and assuring good work from teachers and assuring them of their value.
In response to a question about the districts helping teachers, (3 in math and 1 in science) McGill emphasized the importance of teacher support, saying that, “we believe that we need a system and collaboration. Positions that help teachers build capacity are critical but are not very visible. We have already eliminated two helping teacher positions in social studies and English. There is no direct teacher coordination of programs in this area. We are already absorbing that loss. We no longer have the science and math enrichment teacher either. However we have invested our resources in math. We are now doing lesson study and more teacher collaboration and group instruction. That’s what makes teaching better. In the 2012-13 budget we may have to go back to the individual teacher model if we are forced to cut these support positions.”
In response to other questions about resource allocation, McGill gave the following responses:
“Kindergarten Dance helps to meet the physical education state requirement and is part of the critical thinking initiative. The dance program teaches children to notice, see from all perspectives, and develop important basic skills. This is not frivolous.”
In terms of elementary school language instruction he said, “You could argue that kids are not getting much out of elementary Spanish. But until they get to 8th grade, we won’t know. Results show that though they don’t make much progress in the first few years, they build a knowledge and language facility base that will allow them to take off in later grades. It would be short sighted to stop now before we can see the impact.”
On district consultants, McGill said that “we spend $450,000 overall. Of that, $320,000 is for special education. We also utilize Charlotte Danielson, an internationally known consultant who evaluates our curriculum and Steven Leinwand to advise us on the math program and assessments. Last, we retain consultants who work with Middle School students on empathy and to teach positive coaching techniques.”
On the implementation of the new Mandarin program at the high school, McGill said, “if we did not do it this year, it might never have happened. If a tax cap is imposed it would become very difficult to implement a new program. There will be immense pressure to contain costs. Though it would have made more sense to add it in the middle school it was too expensive.”
Due to time limitations, the meeting ended there, with a promise of a discussion about the establishment of a school foundation for the Board of Education meeting that night, March 21.
Pictured above: From the left: Amy Scharf, Angela Manson, Suzanne Seiden, Jill Spieler, Barbara Kemp, Mary Beth Gose
Photo credit: Sara Werder
Grease At Edgemont High School March 24-27
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The 1950s are back with high-energy rock n’ roll as Edgemont High School proudly presents “Grease”. The musical will run March 24-27. Performance times are: March 24 at 7pm (proceeds for this performance will benefit the Edgemont Scholarship Foundation), March 25 and 26 at 8 p.m., and a Sunday matinee on March 27 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by contacting Caroline Tzelios at [email protected] or 914-472-2327, or at the door prior to each performance (as available). All seating is assigned.
Known as one of the most popular musicals of all time, “Grease” is a high-spirited look at a nostalgic time when the mythical teenagers of Rydell High discover love and life. Join Danny, Sandy, the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies as they sing some of the most popular and infectious songs of all time!
“Grease” premiered in 1971 at Chicago’s Kingston Mines Theater and later became a Broadway hit. In 1978, actors John Travolta and Olivia Newton John made the film version of “Grease” an American standard.
Kelley Morse, (EHS Music Teacher) will serve as Director, John Catoliato, (EHS Music Teacher) will serve as Orchestra Director and Rick Cantatore, Fine & Performing Arts Team Leader, is Producer.
“Grease” stars Seniors Liz Han as Sandy and Justin Arnold as Danny. Both Liz and Justin are thrilled to be in this production as their final show at EHS. Liz will be attending Mount Holyoke College and Justin Arnold will be attending NYU Tisch in the Fall.
Other cast members include:
- MISS LYNCH - Rebecca Gold
- PATTY SIMCOX - Isabelle Kuhn
- EUGENE FLORCZYK - Abhi Jaiswal
- JAN - Sunny Kutcher
- MARTY - Rachel Obstfeld
- BETTY RIZZO - Julie Robine
- DOODY - Maneo Choudhury
- ROGER - Matthew Seife
- KENICKIE - David Newman
- SONNY LATIERRI - Ben Eisenkraft
- FRENCHY - Evie Tzelios
- VINCE FONTAINE - Jacob Freedland
- JOHNNY CASINO - Ethan Kempner
- CHA-CHA DIGREGORIO - Dina Resnick/Katie Ninivaggi
- TEEN ANGEL - Ethan Kempner
- DANCE CAPTAIN - Katie Ninivaggi
Teen Angels (also Grease Ensemble)
Alexandra Angus, Taylor Bouraad, Molly Breitbart, Hailey Cohen, Samantha Feig, Betsy Goldwasser, Chloe Gordon, Tasha Jhangiani, Deepthi Krovvidi, Joanna Lee, Halle Lukasiewicz, Ellen McAlpine, Rachel Nathan, Diana Navarro, Caroline Newman, Katie Ninivaggi, Minyoung Park, Erica Rose, Natasha Suri, Taylor Wald, Jessica Wayne, Harriet You
Grease Ensemble
Sabeen Khan, Jay Kothari, Dominique LeClair, YingYu Lin, Ranjana Naik, Allison Recht, Olivia Ross, Jessica Soriano
The Edgemont Teachers Association (ETA) is offering Edgemont senior citizens complimentary tickets to the Thursday evening performance on March 24th at 7 p.m. Transportation can also be provided. Please contact Ellen Greenstein at 472-2037 for further information.
Grease is the word, whether it is your 1st or 100th time, this 1950’s rock and roll musical is surely the “one that you want”!
March 24 - 27th, 2011 at EHS Stage – White Oak Lane, Scarsdale, NY 10583
Tickets are $15 and are assigned seating. Hurry to purchase as tickets are selling out! Don’t miss this terrific family show!
Scarsdale Students Shine at Science Fair and in Science Olympiad
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On Saturday March 12, a group of fourteen science research students from Scarsdale High School competed at the 11th annual Westchester Science and Engineering Fair at Sleepy Hollow High School in Tarrytown. The students competed with 274 other students from a number of area high schools. The wonderful news is that each one of the fourteen students took home a prize.
Here are the students names and information about their rewards:
Dustin Brout was awarded a Panera Research Award that was given to deserving projects involving food.
Curan Mehra was awarded a Patriot Risk Management Award given to students with outstanding projects in the category of Behavior.
Luke Moretti won a Philips Award for Exceptional Research, which was awarded to projects that focused on improving the quality of people's lives.
Jackie Koo won one of the Stockholm Junior Water Prizes, awarded to top water-related projects as well as the Scenic Hudson Award which was awarded to one project with the most promise of improving the environment.
Spencer Lee, a junior, was awarded one of the ASM International Foundations Awards for "Materials Science" in Chemistry or Engineering. He was also one of two students to win a GENIUS Olympiad Award, which will allow him to enter the prestigious GENIUS Olympiad, being held this year June 26-30 in Oswego, NY.
Julia Deutsch won an award from the American Psychological Association for an outstanding behavioral research project. In addition, she was one of the 4th place winners in the Behavior Category.
Jason Samwick won a Mu Alpha Theta Award for a project involving the use of mathematics in a challenging, original, thorough, and creative investigation. In addition, he took 4h place in the Mathematics category.
The following students also won 4th place overall in their categories:
Grant Lo for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Sahil Lalwani for Medicine and Health, Jared Frank for Biochemistry and Jeremy Frank for Animal Science.
Radhika Rastogi won one of the US Metric Association Awards given for exceptional projects displaying significant use of metric measurement. In addition, Radhika was one of the 3rd place overall winners in the behavioral category.
In addition Roger Pelligrini, a junior, was award a third place medal in the category of Cellular and Molecular Biology.
Lastly, but not least, Alyson Favilla, a junior was awarded second place in the category of Animal Science.
Congratulations to all the Scarsdale High School winners.
Middle School Science Olympiad:
On Saturday March 12, the Scarsdale Middle School was host to the Middle School Science Olympiad, with participation from over 600 students from the lower Hudson Valley. Students participated in a host of events designed to emphasize the problem solving aspects of science, further the understanding of science concepts and build teamwork.
Among the challenging events offered on Saturday were:
Building events: Junkyard Challenge, Storm the Castle, Car of Tomorrow, Tower, Battery Buggy and Bottle Rocket
Lab events: Experimental Design, Can't Judge a Powder, Microbe Mission and Optics
Testing events: Compute This, Ornithology, Write It Do It, Road Scholar, Ecology, Dynamic Planet, Shock Value, Fossils and Solar System
As the team prepares for the New York State tournament, in addition to the above events, they will need to prepare to compete in Anatomy (testing), Awesome Aquifer (lab and building), Disease Detective (testing), Science Crime Busters (lab) and Sumo Bot (building).
The final standings in the competition were:
- 1st -- South Orangetown (Rockland)
- 2nd --Scarsdale A Team
- 3rd -- Ardsley
- 4th -- Scarsdale B Team
- 5th -- Bronxville
Only one team from each school can compete in the NYS tournament, which means that the region will be represented by one team from each of these schools: South Orangetown, Scarsdale, Ardsley and Bronxville.
Putting on an event of this magnitude takes a community effort. In addition to the coaches who have been working with the Scarsdale teams, the entire Middle School Science Department was involved in setting up the event Friday night. On Saturday, many of the Middle School Science Department teachers volunteered their time to help with events, as well as Susan Leach, Kristin Rallis and Michelle Ciconne. Steve Rambone and the Student Organization served as tour guides helping teams find their way to events throughout the day. They also sold candy, pizza and hot dogs to hungry participants. The Middle School custodial staff did their part as well, opening up the building, monitoring the "health" of the building and then cleaning and shutting down the building at the end of the day.
Here are the 2010-11 Science Olympiad participants:
Coaches: Jay Gandelman (also the Lower Hudson Valley Regional Coordinator), Cristine Gilliland, Ken Raff, Jeff Tuttle, Laurie Ciccone, Kristin Martin and Vanessa Denike
Students: Daniel Beitler (6), Philip Conde (6), Jacob Denelsky (8), Lauren Evans (6), David Frank (8-Team Captain), William Gao (6), Nakul Garg (8), Rohan Gharekhan (6), Claire Gillespie (6), Rahul Gosain (8), Ben Hezi (6), James Jasuf (6), Jon Koenig (6), Connie Lam (8-Team Captain), Dexin Li (6), Samantha Lin (7), Ben Mayer (6), Martha Naarendorp (6), Sydney Prince (7), Keshav Rastogi (6), Austin Serling (8), Arvind Sindhwani (6), Sandra Suarez (7), David Szanto (7), Omar Thenmalai (6), Victoria Tomalin (7), Ambika Venkatakrishnan (6), Sarah Weintraub (7), Adam Wolf (6), James Xu (6), Grant Yasen (6) and Alex Yearley (8)
Scarsdale Parents Ask BOE to Maintain Small Class Sizes
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Parents crowded the Scarsdale Board of Education meeting on Monday night March 7 where a record number of apprehensive residents came to express their feelings about class sizes in the elementary school. Many came in response to a campaign by a newly formed group called the “Coalition for Scarsdale Schools” that was created in response to a potential policy change that would allow the Board to slightly increase the sizes of elementary school classes to respond to enrollment shifts. Representing the Coalition, Neil Pierson presented the Board with an online petition signed by 725 residents urging the Board to maintain the caps on class size.
Board President Jill Spieler explained that as of now, the budget calls for class sizes of no more than 22 students in grades K-3 and no more than 24 students in grades 4-5. However, if students move into the district during the summer causing a kindergarten class to have 23 rather than 22 students, the Board would like the flexibility to run the larger class rather than hire an additional teacher or ask students to attend class at another school in the district. She also explained that the Board has allowed for two new undesignated teaching positions to provide staffing next year where it is needed most. Current projections show that the high school will have 44 more students next year. Due to attrition, the high school staff has been reduced by 13 faculty members and many high school classes now have enrollments of more than 25 students.
However parents at the meeting could not be convinced. Many had moved to Scarsdale and left New York City private schools were small classes were the rule. Others were still smarting from the loss of the kindergarten call back days since all kindergarten is now full day. They fear that their children will no longer get the individual attention they need and viewed an increase in the number of students in the class as an additional impediment to one-on-one time.
Others believe that if the Board allows a gradual shift this year, by next year, with budgets under increased strain, the Board will ask for additional increases in class size. Even the President of the PT Council, Tracy Jaffe said that increasing class sizes should be a last resort.
A mother of three, Meredith Kantor said, “it’s just not right for those kids. When you hear the public outcry, it would be a mistake not to listen.” A mother of a child with learning disabilities gave an emotional plea, arguing that in the early grades small classes make it easier for teachers to spot children with issues and help them.
Debbie Franco, a mother of five asked the Board, “do any of you have children in the elementary school?” Recalling the debate over full day kindergarten last year and the discussion about class size this year, she said, “the Board of Ed is throwing us overboard!”
Dorian Glickenhaus asked the Board to look for new sources of funding and recommended that older children pay for sports
and extracurricular activities so that funds could be maintained for teachers in the elementary schools. Another Mom said that “small classes are basic” and said that her children could do without sports and “take a walk “if it would allow for small classes. Anthony Zitrin asked if the Board wanted to put this policy change in front of the community in the form of a referendum and Jim Duggan assured the Board that there was no confusion on the issue and that everyone understood the choice at hand.
Sheryl Braun echoed the sentiments of many in the room, saying “I agree that maintaining the decade long cap on class size it extremely important. I have two children in second grade and believe they benefit from more individualized attention in the classroom. Most people living in Scarsdale have moved here because of the excellent schools and facilities and we pay high taxes for these benefits. If the class size goes up, some people would consider moving to other communities that also have good schools, but not great schools. What will the increase in class size do to our real estate market and our tax base? “
Since Monday nights meeting also included the full presentation of the budget for the 2011-2012 school year, the meeting went very late into the night. Spieler, Superintendant McGill and the Board were courteous and open to comments and gave everyone a chance to air their views but asked them to limit their comments to three minutes. Earlier this year, the Board heard from a very vocal group who wanted to cut expenses and reduce taxes. In contrast, this contingent seemed determined to fund the schools and a top-notch education.
Undoubtedly the number of parents in attendance and their passionate speeches will have an impact on the Board’s decisions for the coming year. The Board is in the challenging position of meeting the needs of the youngest children without leaving high school students in classes of 25-30 students. The community will learn more at upcoming meetings that have been set up to review the proposed budget before the May 17th vote.
Here is a note from School Board President Jill Spieler clarifying some of the information in the piece above:
The current proposal is that the board would decide this spring about how it would like to proceed in adding extra sections if the population exceeds current caps. We do not know if this will occur, and we will not know actual numbers until the summer. The August 15 deadline remains the same.
No student who is a resident would be asked to move to another elementary school. What I referred to on Monday was a current policy already in place in respect to District staff whose children attend Scarsdale Schools. This policy states that the District would move any child of staff members before we would hire an additional teacher for section breaks at current class size practice.
The current projections show that the high school will have 30 more students next year. There are 44 more students in the incoming ninth grade class than the outgoing senior class.
For the 2010-11 school year, we eliminated 9 positions, 5 of which were at the high school. Since the 2008-09 budget, we’ve taken advantage of attrition to decrease the number of teachers by 13.
Music Notes
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Three upcoming musical events will involve students and faculty in the Scarsdale Schools in March. Fifth Grade Visit: On the morning of Wednesday, March 16th, every fifth grader in the district will visit Scarsdale Middle School to attend a music and world language curriculum presentation. The event will help fifth graders make choices for sixth grade registration. The current sixth grade band, chorus, orchestra, and Exploring Music classes will be performing, and Sarah Whittington will make a presentation on behalf of the World Language Department.
Seussical, jr: Eighth graders in the SMS Players, will present Seussical, jr on March 18 and 19 at 7:30 in the Middle School auditorium. There is reserved seating for $10 a ticket. A sale held during intermission will raise money to donate to the Feed Foundation, an organization that makes sure that school age children both here and abroad get a nourishing breakfast. Last year the SMS Players donated $2500.
Chamber Music Recital: Scarsdale music faculty will host a Chamber Music Recital on Thursday, March 24th, 2011 at 7:30 pm in the Scarsdale High School Music Tower. The concert is free and open to the community and will feature a performance by district music teachers.
Here is the program:
-Ludwig van Beethoven - Trio in Bb Major for Piano, Clarinet and Cello-Philippe Gaubert - Trio Aquarelles for Flute, Cello and Piano
-Joaquin Turina - Prelude et Fugue from Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello
-Gabriel Faure - Elegie for Cello and Piano
-Antonin Dvorak - String Quartet No. 6 (the "American")
Musicians:
Lisa Forte, piano
Scott Haberkorn, piano
Barbara Laman, piano
Christopher Missett, clarinet
Connie Leviatin, flute
Jill Schultz, violin
Beulah Cox, violin
Victor Lionti, viola
Jessica Elkhatib, cello
Enrique Orengo, cello
