Parent Challenges District's Classroom Space Calculations
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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This letter was sent to the Scarsdale Schools Administration and the Board of Education by Scarsdale resident Irin Israel:
Dear Superintendent Hagerman, Assistant Superintendent Eric Rauschenbach and Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey:
This morning, through the Freedom of Information Act, I obtained architectural plans of all Scarsdale elementary schools with handwritten notes from BBS Architects (dated July 23, 2020) that list the maximum capacities of each classroom and common space. These are the District’s own architects and their calculations.
Using these numbers, I was able to easily place ALL of our current Scarsdale Kindergarten through 5th grade children in their schools full-time at six feet apart with many extra rooms unused. I am attaching those documents.
The Administration must stop stating and implying that there is not enough room in our elementary schools to fit all students and staff safely at six feet apart. According to the District’s own documents, there is clearly enough room. To continue to do so, would be blatantly lying to the community.
Additionally, as further proof, the attached email shows that BBS Architects stated that “there is socially distanced capacity for about (278) students before moving into core spaces, specials, and supports.” As of 9/1, there were 323 Edgewood students, meaning that just 45 more total students need to fit in the gymatorium, cafeteria, music room, library, and/or multipurpose room to fit the entire student body in the school. This is obviously possible.
Again, as demonstrated clearly in the Administration’s own architectural documents, which you have had since July 23, 2020, there is enough room to fit ALL current Scarsdale K-5 students and staff safely at six feet when applicable. Statements of the contrary must stop immediately.
Please explain explicitly why the Administration keeps stating that all current students and staff cannot fit in our elementary schools.
I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about space in the elementary schools at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your time and for reviewing these documents.
Irin Israel
Stratton Road
Scarsdale
In the document above the turquoise blue pen is Israel’s writing as he put each class in the school, the red numbers are the District architect's maximum capacities.
At the meeting of the Board of Education on December 21, Dr. Andrew Patrick responded to Israel. According to the district’s minutes, “He reminded the community that the District is using every inch of space available and using many new spaces in unconventional ways, all in order to accommodate as many students as possible. Short of asking staff members to eat their lunches alone in their cars, we are keeping people as distant and safe as possible. The Department of Health dictates that just 10 minutes of exposure to a positive person requires a quarantine, even if other safety measures are in place.”
News from the New Library
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Mayor Marc Samwick started the week with a visit to the Scarsdale Public Library taking advantage of the library’s contactless curbside pickup to get a few new books, as well as coffee and bite from the newest café on Olmsted Road, Apiary at The Library.
The library reopened at the beginning of December offering contactless curbside pick-up and is hosting a wide array of online programs for all ages. To learn more, visit here: Additionally, the library boasts a new café, Apariy at The Library, offering a delicious selection of breakfast items, lunches, kid’s meals, hot and cold beverages and more. Library patrons can order contactless curbside pick-up by either calling (914) 713-8674 or visiting the library’s website to place an order here:
Holiday Hours for the Library
The Library will be operating at the below modified hours for the holidays.
Thursday December 24th: Close early at 12:30PM
Friday December 25th: CLOSED
Thursday December 31st: Close early at 12:30PM
Friday January 1st: CLOSED
For questions, please call (914) 722-1300 or email us at [email protected]
Coming Up
Pom Pom Bookmarks and What to Read Next will be held on December 28th at 7:00PM
Join librarian Katie to make a Pom Pom Bookmark, possibly to hold your place in the book she recommends based on your latest favorite!
1) Register to hold your place.
2) Beginning December 14th, call the Reference desk to schedule a pick up for the supplies you need for the program.
3) Send the last title you really enjoyed to [email protected] so Katie can come up with a couple of titles you may like. Her suggestions will be discussed during the program. You will receive a Zoom invite when registering, please be sure to include your email address.
Community Physicians Launch Petition for the Establishment of a Medical Advisory Committee
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This letter was sent to the community and Scarsdale10583 by Drs. Kimberly Greene-Liebowitz and Rich Schutzer asking you to sign a petition to establish a Medical Advisory Committee.
During the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, knowledge is critical and directly impacts decisions by the BoE, administration, teachers, students, and parents. Utilizing the medical expertise within our community will benefit all stakeholders, will allow for the administration to focus on day-to-day decisions, and will streamline policies. The difficulties posed by the current pandemic are expected to be long-lasting and the risk of additive epidemics (e.g. drug use, depression) is real.
We acknowledge the hard work done to date by the Scarsdale School District, administration, BOE, and our district physician, Dr. Corsaro. However, this is too big a job for a single physician to manage alone, and the value of additional physician input cannot be overstated.
Among other things, we expect this committee will:
-Improve healthcare communications and community education
recommend adjustments to SUFSD healthcare policy and resources reflective of evidence-based medicine
-Help refine the testing plans as necessary based on real-world experience
-Develop a set of medical goals/metrics for spring 2021 and the 2021-2022 school year.
We hope that you will sign this petition and support this necessary community resource. Please pass along to friends and neighbors!
Thank you very much! Please let us know what you think. Click here to sign the petition.
Kimberly Greene-Liebowitz and Rich Schutzer
News From Scarsdale Village Hall re: COVID, Downtown Business and the Library
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Drawing by Yanjun LiCOVID continues to dominate Village business, affecting all areas of residents’ lives and goings on at Village Hall, where there is a 50% staff reduction to limit COVID exposure. At the Board of Trustees meeting on December 8, Mayor Samwick sounded the alarm about a dramatic increase in local cases, as Scarsdale’s active case count has risen from 9 to 67 in just one month, with 44 new cases in the past week. He warned that the virus appears to be spreading inside households and asked residents to be vigilant and wear masks.
The meeting followed a public work session on proposed renovations to Freightway Garage and during public comments at the Village Board meeting Robert Berg and Robert Harrison both commented on what should be done at the site. Berg said he had wanted to offer input at the session but was not given the opportunity and said, “I think the Freightway Project should be put in a deep freeze.” He asked that any funds that were allocated toward development at the Freightway site be used for the maintenance of the existing garage. Harrison also said he wanted to comment at Board of Trustee work sessions.
Liaison Reports:
Trustee Justin Arest read a statement from the Reopening Task Force that was created to assist Scarsdale business owners during COVID. Though the dining tent in the Village has been taken down and the picnic tables will be removed the group is doing research and gathering information and ideas on what additional measures can be taken to improve business in Scarsdale.
Their “goal continues to be removing all unnecessary red tape and providing support to the community so that we can offset the horrible impact of COVID-19 and the associated restrictions on businesses to the extent possible,” and they invite resident to share their ideas by emailing [email protected].
In the meantime, they asked the Village Board to amend Village code to allow merchants, restaurants and service providers to use the sidewalks in the Village to conduct business. They may also ask the Board to fund a long-term planning study to determine the community’s vision.
Trustee Lena Crandall highlighted a free exercise program via Zoom offered to seniors via the Scarsdale Recreation Department. Information on the program can be found here:
She also said that due to COVID, the Arthur Manor Association will not be able to hold their annual tree lighting and sing this year but that they thanked the Village for the putting up the holiday lights in Davis Park.
Trustee Rochelle Waldman provided an update on activities at the library on Olmsted Road. Contactless pick up and drop off is available at the new library and they have expanded their hours. Find information about picking up materials here. They will revise their schedule based on demand. The new café is open and available for breakfast and lunch pick-up and you can find their menu here.
Other Business:
In other business, the Board accepted a gift of $1,000 from Sang Han of Paddington Road to the Scarsdale Fire Department for support training, safety and operational efficacy of career and volunteer firefighters.
They approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Scarsdale.
They approved a resolution to award a contract for fluoridation and water quality improvements at Reeves Newsom Water Supply Station.
During the meeting of the Town of Scarsdale, the Board approved resolutions naming Anna Scaglione as the custodian of taxes, naming the Scarsdale Inquirer and the Journal News as town newspapers, naming several banks as official depositories, naming O’Connor Davies LLP as independent auditors and approving that Village meetings can be held via Zoom.
Village Asks Residents to Pick Up Their Own Leaves
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With 11 members of the highway department either out of work with COVID or due to exposure, the Village’s ability to complete three rounds of fall leaf pick-up has been impaired. At the Village Board meeting on Tuesday November 24, Village Manager Steve Pappalardo reported that the Village has almost completed their second round of pick-up but may not be able to finish the third round, which will leave many leaf piles on Village streets.
He asked for residents and landscapers to help in one of three ways:
-We strongly encourage on-site mulch mowing – it’s easy and beneficial.
-Direct your landscaper to transport leaves to the Recycling Center, 110 Secor Road, where the
leaves are accepted free-of-charge if accompanied by a letter from the property owner attesting to the fact that leaves originated from their Scarsdale residence.
-Bag leaves for curbside Sanitation pickup on your second collection day of the week.
We drove around the neighborhood today and saw that a few homeowners had already responded, packing leaves into bags for pick up by the sanitation department.
Above is a photo of my curb – where I discovered that I needed quite a few bags to complete the job!
