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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 28 April 2022

Created: 28 April 2022

Last Updated: 28 April 2022

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On Thursday, April 21, the League of Women Voters Westchester hosted its annual Running and Winning workshop at Reid Castle at Manhattanville College. Twenty-five *female elected officials from throughout Westchester met with 42 *female high school students from our county. Running and Winning is a unique and inspirational workshop whose purpose is to inspire and encourage young women to run for political office. In addition to supporting the students’ aspirations to serve in public office and develop their leadership potential, another aspect is to help our government institutions increase gender parity.

This year, the event was chaired by Elissa Ruback and Leah Dembitzer. Dembitzer, commented: "Running & Winning is a unique and important opportunity. We are so proud to bring this special event to students and grateful to elected officials who gave of their time and told their stories to inspire the next generation of leaders."

The young *women who participated (the League employs an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female” and welcomes all people who identify as such) were selected by their school administrators and faculty to participate in this program. The program agenda included both learning from elected officials’ experiences and practical application.

After a welcome and breakfast, the students and elected officials heard brief remarks from several elected officials from different levels of government: Port Chester Trustee, Joan Grangenois-Thomas; New Rochelle Councilwoman, Yadira Ramos-Herbert; Tuckahoe Mayor, Omayra Andino; Chairwoman of the Westchester Board of Legislators, Catherine Borgia; Yonkers Councilwoman, Tasha Diaz and State Senator Shelley Mayer. In these remarks, the officials spoke of their journey to elected office. Trustee Grangenois-Thomas spoke of the importance of “standing on your story” and being “proud of your identity.” Chairwoman Borgia spoke of having “confidence in your ideas and words.” Mayor Andino told the students that running for and holding political office is not as “daunting as it may seem.”

Following the speeches, the students participated in three rounds of casual interviews with various elected officials who rotated throughout the room. After the morning sessions, the students worked on their mock campaigns, with each student in a given group taking part as either; candidate, campaign manager, speechwriter, publicity/communications chair, and fundraising/development chair. Potential issues offered by the League for campaign platforms included: Organizing an Electric Bus Fleet, Marijuana Lounges and Dispensaries and organizing Mental Health Community Center. The majority of student groups chose to run with the Mental Health Community Center as their issue. Running and Winning 2022 was a vibrant and inspiring experience for all.
Running and Winning 2022 was sponsored by the League of Women Voters Education Fund, the Westchester Community Foundation, the Westchester Black Women’s Political Caucus, the Westchester Library System, Manhattanville College and the American Association of University Women.
*LWVW uses an inclusive definition of female.

Quotes from participating students:

“This experience reassured me that my story and my voice matters.”
"This experience made me realize the impact local government has..."
"This experience helped teach me to speak up."
"The interviews were the most interesting because there was so much diversity shown."
"After interviewing the officials, I felt they are just normal people like us and struggle with the same things."
"I saw how much time and effort the elected officials put into their work -- they showed their passion for their work."
"I learned that the elected officials are just normal, passionate people and I realized the process of running for office is so much more achievable than I thought."
"This experience made me more confident in following my dreams and taking risks."
"I found writing the campaigns to be most interesting -- you could hear other's ideas and be creative."
"This experience showed me how many local roles and career paths in government there are..."
“Most of the women (elected officials) did not expect themselves to be in government and chose to get involved when they saw an issue. Originally, I thought most officials were always interested in politics.”
“This experience taught me that all levels of government are important and that you can serve in office while also having other careers.”
“This experience made me realize elected officials were more like us than I originally thought.”
“This experience made me feel as though my feelings, ideas and experiences were valid and that just because I am a woman, I could actually be successful in politics.”
“Everyone I talked to mentioned stories of their failures, which was sort of reassuring to hear. If you fail at first, you can always try again.”
“This experience showed me that I can do anything… no matter what.”

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 02 May 2022

Created: 02 May 2022

Last Updated: 24 March 2025

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Colleen Brown is one of three candidates selected by the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee to run for Scarsdale School Board. A relative newcomer to town, Brown has extensive experience in education. Learn more about her below and remember to vote in the election for school board members and the 2022-23 school budget on Tuesday May 17th from 7 am to 9 pm at Scarsdale Middle School.

Here’s Ms. Brown’s story:

Tell us about your educational and professional background and skills.

Prior to moving to Scarsdale in 2015, I worked at Leman Manhattan Preparatory School (LMPS) for 10 years in various roles – Head of food service, health & wellness, science teacher, wellness teacher, Dean of Students, Interim Assistant head of Middle School and then Assistant Head of Upper School grades 6-12. During my time there I was involved in Major initiatives including: adoption of new grading system and standards-based report cards school-wide, implementation of new homework procedures and policies, implemented personalized learning plans for all students, implemented new teacher evaluation system, completion of first International Baccalaureate authorized teaching year, implemented Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) program for ELL students, oversaw implementation and growth of HS boarding program, implemented new writing-across-the-curriculum program, implemented a middle school I-Pad program. In addition, over the 10 year period we had a number of educational leadership searches – 2 head of schools, 1 head of high school, 1 head of curriculum, instruction and assessment, 2 HR positions and 2 Head of student support positions.

Why did you choose to move to Scarsdale?

We chose to move to Scarsdale when my son was starting Kindergarten because we heard the schools were the best in Westchester. We had outgrown our apartment and were looking for more space as well as a school system that was just as good, if not better, than NYC private schools. We were very impressed by what we heard about Scarsdale and then found a beautiful home, close to the elementary school. It seemed like the perfect option for our family.

What are some of your past and present volunteer activities?

After moving here in 2015, I volunteered with the QRPTA as Learning from our Differences chair. I co-chaired the PTC community calendar. I was then elected as PTA president for QRS. I also served on SBNC. In addition my family has also involved with Cycle for Survival, the Salvation Army, 914 cares and Mott Haven Fridge Program.

Why did you decide to apply to serve on the School Board?

I decided to run for BOE because I felt that the district could benefit from my experience and I would be able to use my skillset to help strengthen and support our school district. My background in educational leadership and teaching can be a huge asset to help our school district meet its goals and support our students.

In your view, what are the main challenges facing the Board and the district?

We are coming out of a pandemic and changing one of our main educational leaders. We need to make sure we are able to support our students with any gaps that may have developed due to the limitations of the pandemic, as well as any emotional struggles they are having from the past few years. In addition, we need to ensure our next educational leader is equipped to support us in these efforts.

How did you find the nomination and interview process?

I found the SBNC to be extremely professional and thorough in their due diligence and interview process when it came to my application and interview. I would like to thank them for all their hard work and for entrusting in me this great responsibility. I feel extremely honored that they chose me for this role.

What was your reaction when you learned about the district’s issues with the IRS?

Everything going on with the IRS is extremely unfortunate. I am only privy to the same information that the public has so my thoughts right now are probably similar to everyone else. I think part of my role will be to work with the other BOE members to figure out how this happened and what we can do to make sure something like this never happens again. With a new superintendent coming on board we have an opportunity to look at any possible breakdowns that occurred during this event and fix them with the new administration.

Now that you have received the nomination, what are you hearing from neighbors and the community? What are some of their concerns and questions?

Every member of the community wants the same thing – for their children to have the best education possible. Parents are advocates for their children which is why many parents are passionate when it comes to questions/concerns about their children’s education. People are very interested in the process for finding the right replacement for Dr. Hagerman as well how to best support their children’s educational journey.

Are there changes you would like to see in the schools, or in the Board processes and protocols?

Before I can suggest any changes or protocols I need to meet with the board members and really understand the way the board functions. I owe it to the community to fully educate myself before I suggest any implementations for change. I do think that the events of recent are an opportunity for the board to discuss their processes and protocols and see if change is needed but that will be something I discuss further with my fellow BOE members.

Remember to vote at Scarsdale Middle School on Tuesday May 17  from 7 am to 9 pm.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 19 April 2022

Created: 19 April 2022

Last Updated: 21 April 2022

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(Updated April 20, 2022) Concerns about the tax issue in Scarsdale reached Scarsdale School Superintendent Thomas Hagerman’s next employer, the Latin School of Chicago, last week. Latin School’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, David Koo, emailed the Latin School community and offered Dr. Hagerman the Board’s “full and ongoing support.”

Koo shared a letter of explanation that Dr. Hagerman wrote to the school community that sought to explain the IRS issue. In Hagerman’s letter he asserts his belief in “addressing issues directly and openly.” He explains that the Scarsdale School “district has been working diligently with the IRS since we learned of clerical errors on payroll taxes made in 2020-21,” and says, “we are still working toward resolution.” What he doesn’t say is why he failed to alert the Board of Education after the first notice from the IRS in June 2021 and even after the IRS imposed a $1,309,000 tax lien against the district in October 2021.

By way of an explanation he says, “the District has been advised by our attorneys that we should only share information that will not interfere with our ongoing negotiations with the IRS.” Is he implying that he did not disclose the errors, penalties and lien until March 25, 2022 because they posed a risk to the negotiations? And if so, why did the Scarsdale Board of Education immediately share the issue with the community when they learned about in March2022? Did transparency no longer impede negotiations?

In his explanation to the Latin School community, Hagerman excerpted a good portion of a statement from Scarsdale Board of Education’s President Karen Ceske that she reade at the Ap[ril 4, 2022 meeting of the Board of Education. However, he left out three paragraphs and added a few sentences at the end that imply that the Board of Education was aware of the issue, which they were not.

The first point that was omitted from Ceske’s statement said, “the Board and District are working with legal counsel and other appropriate advisors to resolve the current IRS payroll tax issue.”

The second omission was the fact that refunds from the IRS are uncertain. That paragraph says, “This issue does not impact the 2022-2023 budget, and the District is seeking a full refund and abatement of all assessed penalties, and if successful, payment of these penalties will not be owed. The exact timing and outcome of such refunds are uncertain. To reiterate, the District has filed for an abatement of these Q1 and Q3 penalties and, if successful, the penalties will be abated and interest will be adjusted, resulting in an approximate $861,320 refund to the District, which can then be applied to the receivable.”

The last point that was left out was that the Board is planning do an investigation of the administration. It says, “In concert with the District, our auditors, and the IRS, corrective measures and additional internal controls have been instituted to ensure these errors do not occur again. The Board has also called for an audit of the District’s payroll tax processes, including a review of internal controls with the District’s Administration and further investigation into this matter.”

In addition he added three sentences to the end of the Board President's statement that she did not say, Here is what was added: "As I indicated before, we have been in regular communication with the IRS, working towards a resolution. We have submitted all materials for abatements and refunds at this time. The Board's role in this work has been to approve a Q4 tax payment so that this resolution process could continue."

Why this addition is significant is that the Board was not aware of the issue and was not in communication with the IRS to negotiate a resolution. The administration was doing that work without informing the Board.

Dr. Hagerman provided no plausible scenario of why this issue was kept under wraps for almost a year. In fact his excuse for burying the issue is sounding more and more like Trump’s excuse for his failure to disclose his tax returns, claiming that his taxes are being audited by the IRS.

What we do know is that Dr. Hagerman is openly admitting to being aware of the issue and working diligently to resolve it. What he is not saying to the Scarsdale community or the Latin School community is why he hid the $1.7 million mistake from the Board of Education and the public.

Here is the letter from the Latin School

Date: April 12, 2022 at 8:11:30 PM CDT Subject: A Note from Dr. Thomas Hagerman Reply-To: David Koo | Latin School of Chicago <info@latinschool.org>; Latin School of Chicago

Dear Latin Community, I want to share the note below from our new Head of School Dr. Thomas Hagerman. As you may already be aware, the Scarsdale School District has recently received some scrutiny from their community and the media related to an ongoing issue with the IRS. Dr. Hagerman contacted me as this matter evolved, and we agreed it was important to acknowledge it with the Latin community. He shared this note with the Board of Trustees as well as all faculty and staff on Friday. Further, Dr. Hagerman met with the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees to openly and transparently discuss the situation. The Executive Committee was comforted by this discussion. Dr. Hagerman has a strong track record of service and leadership built over the many years of his career. We are fully confident in and excited to welcome him as our next Head of School. We appreciate Dr. Hagerman's proactive and thoughtful consideration of the Latin community at this time, and we have assured him our full and ongoing support. Best, David Koo Chair, Board of Trustees

(From Dr. Hagerman)

Dear Families, While I hoped my initial engagement with all of you would be more celebratory, I am reaching out now because I believe in addressing issues directly and openly. I want to acknowledge the recent media regarding an IRS issue in my current District and provide you with some background. My District has been working diligently with the IRS since we learned of clerical errors on payroll taxes made in 2020-21. Although it has taken some time, the IRS has been forthcoming about the steps we need to take in order to rectify the situation and receive appropriate abatements and refunds.

For additional details, you can read excerpts from my Board President's last opening comments at the end of this note. Our intentions and work have both been aligned around the following areas: correcting the clerical errors that were made, ensuring all payroll tax obligations were paid, and resolving penalties that were issued as a result of these mistakes.

As we are still working toward resolution on these issues, the District has been advised by our attorneys that we should only share information that will not interfere with our ongoing negotiations with the IRS. I deal with the media frequently in my role and understand the need for information to be shared publicly about important matters. We continue to work with both the community and the media to share factual information. My intent in reaching out today is to be proactive, clear, and direct on these events, and I appreciate your understanding and support. Very best, Thomas Hagerman

Excerpts from the Scarsdale District Board President's opening comments from our last Board meeting: "The primary issue before us is one of timing. To be clear, all tax payments were made in 2020. However, when keying a Q1 deposit into the payment system, an error occurred, resulting in part of the Q1 payment being paid late and, thus, a corresponding IRS "failure to deposit" penalty was assessed. Moreover, a Q3 deposit was applied to Q2 and a Q4 deposit was applied to Q3, resulting in two further IRS "failure to deposit" penalties being assessed in Q3 and Q4, respectively. In addition, because Q2 and Q3 had been fully paid at the time the Q3 and Q4 misapplied deposits were made, respectively, the Q3 and Q4 deposits were therefore deemed "overpayments" in Q2 and Q3. The penalties assessed in Q1 and Q3 totaled $861,320. The penalty in Q4 totaled $448,316.81. Because of the IRS's penalty structure, instead of being refunded to the District, the District's Q3 and Q4 tax payments, which had been misallocated and deemed "overpayments" in Q2 and Q3, were applied by the IRS to pay this $861,320 penalty; as a result, a tax shortfall of $843,558 occurred in Q4. The District has already filed an abatement request and refund claim for the funds used by the IRS to pay the Q1 and Q3 penalties. The District has been advised, verbally, by the IRS Office of Appeals that the Q4 penalty may be abated when the Q4 taxes are satisfied. In addition, the IRS has also assessed a penalty of approximately $412,837, plus interest, pertaining to an unrelated error with respect to the District's filing of its Q2 2021 payroll tax return. The District has already filed a request for abatement of this penalty.

In June of 2021, the IRS sent the District a notice of intent to levy and notice of rights to a hearing. Over the next several months, District officials had several communications with the IRS regarding the clerical errors in an attempt to clarify what had occurred and to request abatement of all penalties. Despite verbal assurances by the IRS to District employees on several occasions that it would not impose a lien on the District while it was cooperating in an effort to resolve the matter, a federal tax lien was filed by the IRS in October 2021 in the amount $1,309,118.34. Our lawyers are working towards getting this lien released.

The Board was informed about this situation on Friday, March 25th, held an Executive Session with our tax attorneys from BSK on March 28th to discuss the legal consequences, including the potential likelihood of litigation, and disclosed the details of the situation to the public and took action at the March 30th Special Meeting to authorize payment of the outstanding Q4 taxes. We held a Special Meeting on March 30th because we were required to take this action by this date. In consultation with our auditors, we have confirmed that the $843,558 payment to the IRS for taxes that are due (not penalties or interest) can be deferred and recorded as an account receivable in the General Fund. It will simultaneously be recorded as an allowance against the accounts receivable in the Government-Wide financial statements, along with a footnote disclosure providing more information for the readers of the financial statements.

To reiterate, the District has filed for an abatement of these Q1 and Q3 penalties and, if successful, the penalties will be abated, which will result in the $843,558 tax payment becoming an overpayment that can then be refunded… We acknowledge that the community has the right to answers, and we will continue to update the community as and when additional factual details become available, but for now, we cannot comment or elaborate further because of the legal implications. As I indicated before, we have been in regular communication with the IRS, working towards a resolution. We have submitted all materials for abatements and refunds at this time. The Board's role in this work has been to approve a Q4 tax payment so that this resolution process could continue."