School Budget: Past the Fat into the Muscle of Our Schools
- Details
- Hits: 5811
Balancing excellence with austerity is no easy task. And it’s the tightrope Scarsdale Public Schools Superintendent Michael McGill and his staff must walk these days. On Monday night the board delivered the 2011-2012 budget in a presentation titled “Landmark Schools in Hard Times” and went on to show the situation in Scarsdale is exactly that.
First, McGill explained the commitment to educational values. From their findings, the majority of residents believe the school programs are justified and the community values ‘excellence’ in academics, arts, athletics and professional development. The Board wants to maintain this commitment, under these difficult constraints.
The budget is projected to remain relatively flat in the coming year, with the majority of the 2.9% growth coming from pension mandates. This is the fourth year of sub-3% budget growth for Scarsdale schools, a precedent. Most of the students and parents initially will not feel much of a change on a day-to-day basis or the pinch from Albany that many schools across New York currently feel. But the devil, as they say, is in the details.
What’s Missing?
The future looks a bit dimmer at Scarsdale schools. There will be no future funding for some interdisciplinary programs, Mandarin, and some electives in science and social studies. The schools will also reduce educational investment in sustainability, arts and interdependence. These were things that many students were excited about.
Also gone: Aid from Albany. Much of that money was put to building projects and capital improvements. So if you think the bathrooms at your kid’s school is dated, it will most likely remain that way.
So far Scarsdale has avoided lay offs mainly through attrition, but those losses will soon be felt. One such example is the loss of the part time health coordinator in the elementary schools. Right now the schools are trying to figure out who will teach some of the more ‘delicate’ subjects to the older grade-schoolers. (That sound you hear are the teachers yelling ‘Not I')
There will also potentially be larger classes in science labs with a chance that students may have to double-up at stations.
Some school aide hours will also be cut and some of the technology, secretarial and para-professional staffings had to be restructured.
As McGill puts it, “We are done cutting fat and down to muscle.”
And that was clear at the meeting. As Assistant Superintendent Linda Purvis worked through the details of the budget, it started to feel a bit threadbare- with a justification for everything, including the faulty heater in the middle school. And in order to get proper coverage throughout the school day--the custodian schedule is more intricate than a Persian rug.
So What?
I’m sure many of you are rolling your eyes. This is Scarsdale. Our school budget is bigger than the GDP of many small countries. We all know other schools that have it much worse, with teachers buying school supplies, parents funding sports programs and no money left in the budget for art, music or any sort of elective.
Admittedly, I am very new to the budget process and even Scarsdale schools. My oldest will enter Kindergarten here in the fall. So maybe this is the show that the Board puts on each year for the budget, but their concern seems real and their love and respect for our children’s education seems genuine to me. I have faith that much like the economy this situation will improve over time. But I am worried about what these multi-year sub-par growth budgets will mean for the town’s psyche.
While the cuts may not seem so bad this year on an individual basis, taken together you get a sense of stagnation. Many of us moved here specifically for the schools. Maintaining and keeping the budget flat may be the prudent and only thing that can be done this year. Longer term, I worry that little growth will become status quo and innovation will become synonymous with cost; a recipe for mediocrity that I don’t think most residents want.
Jen is a freelance journalist who has covered the economy and markets for over a decade at a major financial news outlet. She lives in Scarsdale with her husband and 2 children. Jen has yet to bake a successful batch of cookies.
Scarsdale Students Excel in Academic Competitions
- Details
- Hits: 7412
On Sunday, February 6, the Scarsdale Middle School MATHCOUNTS club attended the Westchester/Putnam chapter competition at Pace University in Pleasantville. Thirteen schools attended and Scarsdale finished in first place and will go on to the states! Additionally, two of Scarsdale’s individual competitors qualified for the States. The six qualifying students were among the top seven students overall.
The ten participating students were Rebecca Agustin, Michael Bogaty, Rahul Gosain, Richard Guo, Connie Lam, Samantha Lin, Koji Shiromoto, Garrett Tanzer, David Wang andTimothy Zhao.
Rebecca, Michael, Samantha, Koji, Garrett and David will represent Scarsdale at the State competition at RPI March 19.
Congratulations to all of the students and good luck at the State competition.
On Sunday, February 6, a number of Scarsdale High School Research Students attended and participated in the 10th annual Westchester-Rockland Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. About 400 students from 22 area schools attended this event. Eight Scarsdale High School students participated in the twelve Speaker Sessions, and four participated in one of the two Competitive Poster Sessions.
In the Speaker Sessions, Radhika Rastogi and Curan Mehra both took fifth place in their respective Behavior categories, Ruth Kagan took 3rd place in her Medicine and Health Category, Jeremy Frank placed second in General Biology, Andrew Huang placed 2nd in Math and Computer science, and Julia Deutsch placed first in the remaining Behavioral section. All 6 will move on to the upstate competition in Albany, with Julia and Andrew doing speaker sessions, and the rest doing competitive poster with other students from all over New York State.
In addition, Jason Samwick took 3rd place in math and Sahil Lalwani took first place in Biology in the Competitive Poster Sessions. Lastly, Alyson Favilla won an award for the most promising display poster. Congratulations to all of the students for participating in this very exciting day.
Photo Credit: Lewis Bogaty
High School Happenings
- Details
- Hits: 5793
Schools Helping Schools Fundraiser Features the Story of a Survivor Marshall Kim: Scarsdale parent Marshall Kim, who is a survivor from the Cambodian genocide will be telling his story on Friday February 4 at 7:00 pm in the Scarsdale High School Little Theater. The event is hosted by the student organization Schools Helping Schools, and will feature musical performances in addition to Kim’s riveting story of his experience living through one of the worst human tragedies of the twentieth century. There will be a question and answer session afterwards.
Tickets for admission may be purchased at the door, and cost $5 for students and $10 for adults. Free drinks will be provided, and baked goods will also be sold at the event. All proceeds will go towards sustainable farming efforts and a new literacy program at the Children’s Development Village in Cambodia, which houses about orphans and children from unstable families
During the Cambodian genocide driven by Pol Pot and the radical communist Khmer Rouge regime, approximately 1.7 million people were killed. Genocide should never be forgotten, so come hear a story that you will remember forever and help give children the opportunity for a brighter future.
Attention Aspiring Writers: Scarsdale10583 is now accepting student submissions of poetry and prose. Each week, one or more pieces written by students from the elementary, middle, or high school will be selected to be featured on Scarsdale10583.com.
Poems, short stories, and other forms of creative writing will all be considered. Please submit your best pieces for the chance for your work to be read by a large audience! Each piece of writing must not exceed two pages single-spaced.
Please send submissions and a short bio of the writer to [email protected]
Job and Internship Fair at the Scarsdale Teen Center: The job fair is open to the Scarsdale High School students only and free of charge for companies. If you would like to have a representative of your company attend please click here to register.
You will have the chance to promote your organization and any opportunities -- internships, full-time, part-time or temp work to our diverse, and talented students seeking opportunities that begin this summer or fall.
Date: Saturday, March 5, 2011
Time: 2-4pm
Address:
Scarsdale Teen Center
862 Scarsdale Avenue
Scarsdale, NY 10583
Scarsdale Forum Divided on School Finances
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 9923
The Scarsdale Forum Education Finance Committee was divided on their views of teacher compensation in the Scarsdale Schools and issued both a majority and minority report. These reports, as well as several others including a report on the Scarsdale AP/AT program will be voted on at an upcoming meeting on Thursday night February 3.
As the District is faced with rising pension and healthcare costs and a proposed tax cap, the majority report makes recommendations on how to bring the growth rate of school expenditures into line with inflation and enrollment. In a lengthy analysis of Scarsdale teacher compensation, the majority report recommends the following:
- State legislators work to restructure the pension system, that employees increase their contributions to the system and the district and the BOE lobby for mandate relief
- Teachers pay an increase share of their healthcare costs
- The School Board reduce the rate of compensation growth from STEP increases and cost of living increases
- Limit collective bargaining agreements to three years to increase flexibility
In an analysis of the school budget, the committee concluded that the growth of school expenditures regularly outstrips the rate of economic growth and that salary and benefits are the principal drivers of school budget increases. The report states that in the 2010-11 budget, $102 million goes to salary and benefits for 606 employees, meaning that the average salary is $122,995 per year and average benefit costs are $45,350 per employee
The district’s pension contribution was up 44% for the 2010-2011 budget year, which was an increase of $2.4 million over the prior year. Since these costs are beyond district control, the report recommends that State legislators restructure the system and ask for increased contributions from plan participants.
For healthcare costs the report recommends that employees pay an increased share of their premium and co-pays as well as a new enrollment fee.
The report includes an in-depth analysis of teachers’ salaries and explains the system for STEP increases and offers a comparison of Scarsdale’s pay scale with that of Chappaqua. Though Chappaqua initially pay teachers with a BA about $4,000 more per year, Scarsdale’s salaries are 10-15% higher, or $13,000-$18,000 higher in later years and for those with experience and advanced degrees.
A 2009/10 BOCES Report also found that Scarsdale paid the highest salaries in Westchester County and in New York State, outpacing Edgemont, Bronxville, Chappaqua and Blind Brook. However, Scarsdale’s teachers are also better educated and, on average, have more years of teaching experience than their peers in other districts.
Last, the report analyzes the District’s collective bargaining agreement with the teachers. The current agreement is a five-year contract and since economic conditions have changed dramatically during that period, the report recommends that future agreements be limited to three year terms. It is suggested that the Board seek out new legal advisors to assist in negotiations.
However, the entire committee was not in agreement, and four members, Eric Staffin, Nan Berke, Mary Beth Evans and Arthur Rublin issued a minority report with a different viewpoint.
They reject the idea of setting a target of limiting the School District’s budget growth to the inflation rate plus enrollment growth and fear that it runs the risk of dire short and long-term consequences for Scarsdale public education.
In regards to salaries, they recognized that the “District competes for faculty and administrators in a marketplace of high performing metropolitan school districts and specifically with high performing districts in Westchester and Nassau Counties” and “has traditionally wished to be in a position to attract the strongest candidates in this market.”
To that end they “endorse the School District’s longstanding strategy of attracting and retaining the strongest teachers available in the region and “recommend that in the next round of collective bargaining over the Scarsdale Teachers Association contract, due to expire in 2013, the Board should bring Scarsdale teacher salaries as closely in line as possible with those of competing districts without undermining Scarsdale’s short or long-term ability to attract and retain the highest quality faculty.
They conclude the section on salaries by saying, “In sum, we do recognize that it is beyond the scope of our ability, and beyond our appropriate role, to attempt to micromanage the collective bargaining process.”
In regards to pension contributions, the minority report supports “the School Board’s recent resolution calling on New York State legislators to couple any property tax cap legislation with specific legislative action to contain State-mandated pension fund contributions.”
The Forum has planned a meeting on Thursday night February 3 where they will vote on the reports. Guests at the meeting will be Board of Education President Jill Spieler who will give an update on the state of the schools, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lynne Shain who will speak on The Building Blocks of a Scarsdale Education, Michael McGill, Superintendent of Schools and Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent of Business, who will provide a preview of the school budget. It is interesting to note that School Board President Jill Spieler was formerly President of the Scarsdale Forum, and the two groups now disagree about what's best for the Scarsdale Schools.
The meeting starts at 8pm in the Scott Room of Scarsdale Public Library, with a reception at 7:30 to honor the PT Council, and the nominees for Trustee and Mayor of Scarsdale. Margaret Smith of Odyssey Chocolates will provide sanples of her hand crafted chocolates to attendees.
Will There Be Lights At Butler Field?
- Details
- Hits: 8847
In a marathon meeting on January 24 that lasted almost four hours, the Scarsdale Board of Education passed two resolutions concerning the tax cap and mandate relief and conducted a very lengthy conversation on proposed lights for the turf field at SHS.
Tax Cap: Following up on earlier conversations about the proposed tax cap, the Board passed two resolutions opposing a 2% tax cap, one from the Westchester Putnam School Board Association and another drafted by the Scarsdale Board.
The Board voted to support the Westchester Putnam statement that asks for legislative and unfunded mandate relief to be included in any New York State Property Tax Cap Proposal. The resolution can be viewed here:
In addition, a majority of the Board approved a separate resolution drafted by the Scarsdale Board.
That statement voices the Boards opposition to a cap, but in the case that a tax cap is imposed, it calls for an override clause with 55% of the vote, and for the exclusion of mandated costs from the cap.
According to Board President Jill Spieler, the 2% increase in mandated pension costs alone would account for the entire allowable tax increase for the school budget. She supported the Scarsdale resolution and was not confident that the state legislation would include a provision for an override. Also in support of the resolution were Board members Barbara Kemp, Suzanne Seiden and Linda Chayes who said that “the tax cap could be a disaster for Scarsdale and other districts.”
Elizabeth Guggenheimer voted in support of the resolution, saying, “I am concerned that external forces can tell us how much we are permitted to grow our budget. We need to be vocal about our position on the override. I am glad that we are being proactive and supporting the override.”
Mary Beth Gose graciously thanked the Board for their spirited discussion but had a different perspective. She believes that the tax cap proposal will include an override provision and did “not agree that the tax cap could devastate the budget.” She said, “We pay the highest property taxes in the United States. I encourage people to vote on the budget and have confidence in the community. We have excellent structures in place and if we educate the public they will support the budget and override the tax cap.”
Lew Leone also opposed the resolution. He feels that Scarsdale’s overwhelming support for Governor Cuomo in the last election indicates that residents support a tax cap, since this was on Cuomo’s platform. In addition, he believes that taxes are too high, and said, “We have reached a tipping point in terms of real estate. We rely on new families to move here from the city. The balance between tuition and taxes has reached the point where we will lose the influx of young families. I support the tax cap and believe there will be an override provision.”
Seiden responded to Leone and defended the Board, saying, “No one here wants high taxes but it is our job to ensure a quality education and keep taxes low. We don’t want the state to tell us how to do our jobs. I don’t believe people in this community voted for Cuomo due to his support of a tax cap.”
The resolution was passed by a vote of 5-2 and will be sent to legislators.
School Calendar: the Board approved the 2011-2012 School Calendar. For those of you who are thinking ahead to next Christmas, schools will close at 3pm on Tuesday December 20, 2011 and reopen on Tuesday January 3, 2012 providing almost two weeks of vacation. The entire 2011-2012 school calendar can be viewed here:
Finances: In the financial report, the Board reviewed the current budget surplus which has resulted from savings on teacher salaries due to a reduction in staff headcount, savings on heating costs as a result of the District’s use of gas fuel rather than oil and a 7% savings in year to date healthcare costs. There was a discussion of how this surplus could be used to fund subsequent budgets.
Lights: The most heated moments of the meeting arose in the prolonged discussion of a proposed gift of funds from Fields for Kids to install lights at the turf field at Scarsdale High School. The Board invited comments from the community and heard from those for an against.
The first speaker was a local attorney who has been retained by homeowners who live near the high school who believe they will be negatively affected by the lights. They are concerned about their privacy and the potential impact on the value of their homes. He told the Board that his clients would “take every effort to maintain the value of their homes.”
Next up was Rippy Philipps on behalf of Fields for Kids who assured the Board that they would follow all the requirements for the installation and that they did not mean to be adversarial. He told the group that he had already received an unsolicited gift of $1,000 for the lights and that the lights were “meant for the kids.” He added, “Is it a good time? Is it ever a good time? If we are going to raise the money, people can say no.”
Mark Michael a homeowner who lives in the vicinity of the school relayed his concern about the impact of the lights and the possibility that once installed, their use would be expanded beyond the agreed upon schedule. He said, “I think it will have a negative impact on the value of my home. Let’s see if people would put up money to put up lights across from their own homes.”
Susanne Jones of Wayside Lane questioned whether a press box would also be installed and told the Board of her experience last spring when a commentator spoke over a loudspeaker during a game at the field. She said, “It was so loud I could not sit in my own yard” and she called it “the most unpleasant experience (she has) had living here. “
Jones continued by saying, “I am the parent of a freshman and attended meetings at the school where stress was addressed. When you extend extra curricular activities and expand use of the field, there is more opportunity to play, but also shrinking potential for family time and homework. If kids are expected to go to practice and then go to a meet at night, when can they be home? In my mind, academics come first. Sports are lovely but not the overriding reason to be in Scarsdale. We have to get to the bottom of our priorities. How about spending $300,000 to get kids homework help with their science homework?”
Mark Sylvester came to represent the Scarsdale Youth Soccer Club and said that they “support Rippy and the new lights. We are happy to help with outdoor education in any way.”
Lawrence Patrizio of 11 Foxhall Place spoke in support of the lights, and vowed to “work with the Board to meet all the requirements for installing the lights. As a parent I think athletics are very important. I see a lot of positive in bringing the lights to the school.”
Dr. McGill was asked to discuss priorities for the high school and relayed that the “view of the athletic staff is that the fitness center is too small and it is unable to accommodate the number of students in class or those using it for athletic training after school.”
In addition, he said the “Baseball field is inadequate and substandard. The left field is often wet and fly balls go into the parking lot and hit cars and people.” He added that Athletic Director Mike Menna would like to have lights and Physical Education Director George Blessing has other priorities.
Assistant Superintendant Linda Purvis shared what she had learned about lights from other school districts. In Pelham, where there are lights, control of the field and the lights has been turned over to the Village who bills groups for use of the lights. The school system does not use them frequently as they do not have the funds.
In Eastchester the field with lights is also run by the town and Con Edison charges them to have the power available. The first time they turn on the lights each season costs $2,000. They also had to purchase a generator to run the lights at a cost of $75,000. She discussed the need for a power feed from the high school to the lights and additional costs for custodians and police during evening games.
A lengthy conversation ensued with some Board members calling for the establishment of a foundation to evaluate gifts. Guggenheimer pointed out that this gift is much larger than what a foundation could expect and urged the board to consider it. However, she said that the gift was not in line with the district’s current gift policy that states that “gifts should be appropriate, should have a desirable effect on the school, and should not have an influence over policy.”
Others were concerned with potential costs for the lights, power, game supervision and maintenance and called for further research. In addition the Board recognized the need for community outreach in light of the feedback they had received as well as an assessment from the school on the potential impact of expanded athletics on the academic program. The environmental effects of the lights would also need to be studied.
Given that the Board and administration were at the beginning of the budget process, Spieler felt that the staff would not have the resources to undertake the additional work at this time. She suggested that the issue be tabled, but others on the Board argued that the people behind Field for Kids could do some of the financial analysis of the project.
At the close of the meeting it was agreed that Fields for Kids would provide the Board with information on the equipment, power, and long-term costs, as well as a project timeline for their fundraising efforts.
