Edgemont Approves Budget and Elects the SBNC Endorsed Slate to Board
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Edgemont voters approved the 2010-11 school budget by a margin of 77.5% to 22.5%, with 764 in favor and 222 opposed. Edgemont’s margin of approval is believed to be the highest rate of approval by any school district in Westchester County.
The budget that voters approved called for an increase in spending of 1.1% but, because of reduced property tax assessments, required a tax increase of 2.5%. Nonetheless, the hikes in Edgemont were the second lowest in twenty years and capped a five-year financial turnaround for the district, which has had single digit increases every year since 2006. Unlike most school districts in the area facing tough economic times, Edgemont was not required to lay off any personnel or cut programs this year.
Edgemont elected the entire slate recommended by its School Board Nominating Committee to the Board of Education. Elected to three-year terms were David Chao, Thomas McCormack, and David Stern. Elected to fill the remaining two years on Allan Pepper’s term was Gerald Stoughton.
Former Board president Chao was re-elected to the Board with 740 votes. He is an Edgemont alumnus who was part of the leadership team that led the district’s financial turnaround. Chao, a graduate of Dartmouth, is a professional financial investor and advisor.
McCormack, a corporate litigator in Manhattan with Chadbourne and Park, was re-elected to a second three year term. He received the second highest vote total, with 710 votes. McCormack has degrees from Stanford and Cornell.
Stern was elected with 689 votes. He is also an Edgemont alumnus, and the younger brother of Sarah Stern, the former board president who led the district’s financial recovery. Stern holds business degrees from Yale and is a management consultant. Stern’s mother, Betsy Stern, is also a former member of the board and served as its president in the 1980s.
Stoughton, a financial planner with the Port Authority of New York, was re-elected with 660 votes. Stoughton holds degrees from Columbia and Harvard.
Budget and Board Vote Today
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Both the candidates and representatives of Friends of Slate 2010 were out in force today, seeking to draw residents to the booths to vote in Scarsdale’s first contested School Board election in recent memory.
At the Scarsdale Train Station, both Suzanne Seiden, the candidate chosen by the School Board Nominating Committee, and independent Bob Harrison were on hand to chat with voters, distribute leaflets and encourage everyone to go to the polls. For Scarsdale residents, the vote is being held at the Scarsdale Middle School, and booths are open until 9 pm tonight. On the ballot are School Board Nominating Committee candidates Jill Spieler and Elizabeth Guggenheimer, running for their second three-year terms, as well as first-timers Lew Leone and Suzanne Seiden, who is being challenged by independent candidate Bob Harrison. Voters will also vote for or against the $135 million school budget. Which represents a 2.56% tax increase in Scarsdale and a 5.77% tax increase in the Mamaroneck Strip.
The community was surprised to see Scarsdale engaged in a whirlwind of activity. Full page ads were taken out in the paper, campaign signs appeared in windows of local retailers, direct mail was sent out and volunteers made phone calls from a local real estate office to encourage their neighbors to vote. In the past, since the SBNC candidates were not challenged, little campaigning was done.
In Edgemont, the community will choose four school board members from a list of five potential candidates and vote on a $48.5 million school budget. The Edgemont School Board Nominating Committee has endorsed David Chao, Tom McCormack and Gerry Stoughton for a second term on the Board and David Stern who is running for the first time. Challenger Caroline Tzelios is also vying for a seat. The budget will mean a 2.55% tax increase. Edgemont residents are encouraged to vote in the old gym of Edgemont High School and polls are open until 9 pm tonight.
Predator Alert
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Bronxville and Carmel police have issued an alert to Westchester residents concerning a man who was found taking photos of young girls outside Bronxville High School on May 4. David Reeves of Lake Carmel, NY was parked in a red 1996 Mercedes while taking pictures of 12-14 year old girls on his cell phone. He also had a palm-sized Sony video recorder containing about 30 videos of young girls outside of schools in Mahopac, Carmel and Kent. When questioned Reeves confirmed that he had recorded the videos but would not elaborate on his intentions.
Reeves is described as a 6’0’ tall white man, 260 pounds, with thin white hair and a white mustache wearing glasses. In addition to the red Mercedes he may also be driving a white Saab. Since it is not against the law to take pictures and Reeves has not published the photos, there are no criminal charges against him at this time. However, anyone who sees a white male fitting this description, taking photos or acting suspiciously should contact the school administrator and the Bronxville Police Department at 914-337-0500.
D Day for Public Schools in New York State
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While all of New York waits with baited breath for Andrew Cuomo to formally announce his gubernatorial candidacy (now rumored to occur on May 25th) there is an election this week with profound implications for public education in New York State. On Tuesday May 18th most public school districts in New York will hold school board elections and school budget votes (all except the large cities).
County town and village taxes have skyrocketed in the past year or two (for which there is no direct vote). School district budgets however are put up to a plebiscite every year. School boards in New York have endeavored to move heaven and earth to keep school expenditures to a minimum this year. In the midst of rampant teacher bashing and so many lamentations about the state of our public schools, most districts in the state are proposing budgets that are less than 2% higher than last year. And given the rate of increases embedded in contractual obligations and required pension contributions (all outside the control of school boards) that means deep cuts to get to those numbers. Moreover, many school districts in New York rely on state aid. Yet Governor Paterson has proposed to cut educational spending by over $1 billion. But school boards can only guess what the real numbers will be because the state legislature has failed to adopt a state budget and there's no resolution in sight. Aside from the uncertainty from Albany -- school districts across the state have been decimated by the dramatic drop in property assessments -- thereby driving down the primary revenue source for school districts -- the property tax. So while many school districts adopted budgets that are at or close to zero increases over last year, the property tax rate in most districts are slated to go up by an average of 3.3%.
Assuming all school budgets pass on Tuesday (highly unlikely) there will be, according to Tim Kremer, the Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association, a least 14,000 teachers who will lose their jobs. Another 5,000 non-instructional school employees will also be axed. So in the best of circumstances at least 20,000 will lose their jobs this year. If school budgets are defeated at the polls -- the ramifications are drastic. Contingency budgets will be pegged at a zero percent increase over last year's budgets with harsh restrictions as to how you get there. You could see the wholesale elimination of important educational and co-curricular programs - and layoffs could be double that of what Kremer estimated. What's the impact of this on the classroom? Much larger class sizes, elimination of athletics, arts, and foreign language. And these cutbacks come at a time when the pundits and critics of our educational system continue to bash teachers, administrators, and public schools generally. Inflicting this budgetary damage will only make it worse.
Rye blogger and community activist Charmian Neary lays much of the blame at Albany's doorstep. In a letter to the Journal News, Neary states:
"It's important to talk about the sorry state of our state Legislature and how that affects schools across Westchester. The Legislature every year passes more and more laws -- which we are then mandated to include in our school budgets -- but they do not increase our state school aid accordingly. ...In Rye, where I live, the schools next year will see an increase in enrollment of 1.2 percent -- and a budget increase of 1.3 percent (or only one-tenth of a percent above enrollment). This is the lowest tax rate increase in almost two decades. The taxpayers need to hear that fact above all the noise. School taxes are the only taxes we as voters can vote against directly, so it is tempting to register our frustration at the polls during our school budget vote. Please remember before you vote, however, that the men and women with the real power to change the way schools are funded are on the ballot in the fall. Voting against your school budget does not send a message to Albany. They only listen when it's their office on the ballot and their career on the line. If you're angry about taxes let them have it -- but not by voting against your own kids."
On Tuesday the voters are not only voting on school budgets, they are also electing school board members. Lois Winkler and Lisa Davis, respectively the president and executive director of the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association emphasize the importance of choosing school board members wisely: "Local school boards make the governance decisions that affect how our children are educated and how our tax dollars are spent. Boards of education will face ever more challenging issues in the years to come, and the districts with solid leadership teams will be best prepared to navigate through rough waters." http://bit.ly/92dilB.
There are hundreds of solid citizens on the ballot Tuesday -- yet there are also some clinkers and some more destructive. In Buffalo, a school board candidate wants eliminate sports from the school day: The Buffalo News reported that board candidate Ford Beckwith wants to eliminate athletics: "Do we want to continue to sink money into sports versus education?" asked Beckwith, a Navy veteran. "You should teach kids to read, write, do math and science. . . . Everything after that is a bunch of crap. How many kids will grow up to play football?"
And in Harrison, board candidate Naomi Oppmann has what she thinks is a brilliant idea about how to raise revenue for schools:
"Have a company pay to put their logo on a school roof that has a flat roof (so that the artwork would only be seen from the sky)-since we are in the flight path to many area airports it would make it more appealing to businesses."
I'll leave the last word on this to Winkler and Davis:
"Public education is at a crossroads. School districts must come to grips with shrinking resources, long-standing union contracts, and federal and state mandates, while being ever mindful of the needs of the local taxpayer and the student in the classroom. We need to elect board of education members who are able to maintain a clear and consistent focus on strategic goals and priorities. Now, more than ever, an effective school governance team is critical to the long-term success of every district. Board of education members have the power to lead a district to great success or to lead it astray. Choose wisely when you cast your vote on May 18."
This article first appeared in the Huffington Post.
Bomb Squad Disables Live Bazooka Rocket in Hartsdale
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It turns out that a Hartsdale neighbor has been housing a live bazooka rocket in her attic. Joseph Barden was assisting his elderly neighbor, Kathryn Sloate of Joyce Road in Hartsdale to clean out her attic on Friday 5-7 when he found what he believed to be a mortar round shell. He picked it up, brought it outside, placed it on the front lawn and then called the police.
When officers arrived, they saw the potentially explosive device and closed off the area to cars and pedestrians. The Special Operations Unit placed ballistic blankets near the device in case it detonated. They called in the Westchester County Bomb Squad Unit who identified the device as a World War II 2.36” M87 Practice Bazooka Rocket. The bazooka rocket was xrayed and classified as a “live” practice round. The device was made safe by the Westchester County Police Bomb Squad, and removed from the scene. It will be stored at an undisclosed location for future disposal by the U.S. Military.
Apparently, Mrs. Sloates’ late husband was a World War II veteran who served in the United States Air Force but Mrs. Sloate had no knowledge of what was upstairs. There may be more in your attic than flying squirrels. Watch out!
