What happened at this week’s Board of Ed Meeting?
Didn’t want to sit through the meeting? Don’t feel like an outsider, just read the Insider.
Revised 2025-26 budget proposal
Why is the district’s healthcare plan so expensive?
Students, parents speak up in favor of the multivariable calculus class
Plus more
BY DEBORAH SKOLNIK
There rarely is such a thing as a short meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Education—especially not at this time of year, when much of the meeting focuses on a potential 2025-26 school budget. This year in particular the discussions have been somewhat fraught, as the administration tries to plug a $2 million hole in the budget.
Leading off with a joyful announcement
Soon after the meeting began, Superintendent Dr. Andrew Patrick had happy news to share: Trish Iasiello, the former assistant principal at Fox Meadow School, has been named the new principal of Greenacres School. The newly-crowned Principal Iasiello then rose, to thunderous applause. “[Principal Iasiello] is a talented and empathetic student- and family-centered educator and leader,” Superintendent Patrick said. "She holds an educational leadership advanced certificate from LIU, an MS in special education from Mount St Mary College, and a BA in elementary education from Clemson.
“It is clear that Trish holds so many of the characteristics and qualities we were looking for in the next principal of Greenacres,” Superintendent Patrick continued. “She is an individual with a deep knowledge base and understanding of child development, curriculum and instruction. She's someone who learns alongside her teachers and is a clear communicator who fosters warmth, clarity and trusts with parents, faculty, staff and students. Trish is approachable. She's compassionate, kind and empathetic, which helps her build real and authentic relationships with all of her stakeholders. All of this will set her up for success and Greenacres up for success in the future.”
Principal Iasiello then shared a few words of thanks. “I’m ,just so honored and excited for this opportunity, and I just want to thank the entire Scarsdale community for all the well wishes and congratulations and support that I've received over the years,” she said. “This is now my 26th year in Scarsdale, and I'm just so happy to still be here a part of the Scarsdale family. I really am looking forward to meeting the Greenacres students.”
Newly appointed Greenacres School Principal Tricia Iasiello
Steadily dwindling district fund balance since 2021
With that, the third installment of the school budget study began. Assistant Superintendent for Business Andrew Lennon began by sharing the history of the fund balance. The chart showed a notable drop in the district’s Self-Inured Health Insurance Reserve (projected to be $2,862,886 by the end of fiscal year 2025, down from $3,787,173.00 at the end of the 2024 fiscal year). Ultimately, the district’s fund balance is projected to be $20,830,421 by FYE 2025, down from $22,127,894 in FYE 2024. This will mark four straight years of the fund balance dwindling, from $22,127,894 in FYE 2024 and, looking back several years, $25,536,424 in FYE 2021.
A chart shared at the meeting indicated that the district’s fund balance has steadily decreased since 2021.
The trending decrease is cause for community concern. Lennon had another slide to share. It went back to the 2016 school year and reflected the total fund balance and reserves from then until the present, along with the percentage that each fund balance and reserve total represented as opposed to the subsequent year’s budget. “Over the last few years, we've had a steady trend of fund balance decline as we came out of the pandemic and continued to to see some of our budget lines get tighter and our revenue sources get tighter as well,” Lennon observed.
The fund budget has fluctuated over the past 10 years, and so has the balance as a percent of each subsequent year’s budget.
Since the decline in the health insurance reserve is so dramatic, Lennon broke it out into a slide all its own. Although the reserve was built up between 2018-19 and 2021-22, it has decreased every year since then, he explained. “As our health insurance costs have kind of gone up the last few years and the budget has not been able to keep pace, we've appropriated more and more of that reserve to balance the budget or to to deal with expenses that have been incurred above the budget in the current fiscal year that we need to fund,” he said.
After remaining flat for four years, the health insurance reserve declined—not the dramatic difference in the estimates for this year and 2026.
Build a better budget?
Soon after, Lennon presented a revamped version of the 2025-26 proposed school budget. He explained it is categorized into general support, instruction, transportation, community services, and a section that includes employee benefits, debt service, and fund transfers. The budget-to-budget variance reveals a modest increase in most areas. Notably, undistributed expenses are projected to increase by 7.96%, driven largely by a 9.12% rise in employee benefits. In all, if this iteration of the 2025-26 budget plan is approved, it will mark an increase of roughly $6.5 million versus the projected expendistures for 2024-25.
The reworked 2025-26 budget plan aims to bridge the $2 million gap in the previous iteration.
Staffing changes
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Leadership Development Meghan Troy next walked the Board and audience members through the staffing changes that the budget would entail. Although it may sound counterintuitive, the newest version of the budget actually would include a few new staff positions. Two special-education positions would be added at the middle school and high school, and a staffer would be added to provide coverage for fluctuations in elementary class sizes. A teaching assistant position would also be added.
And yet, there would also be staffing reductions, including an elementary position due to lower enrollment and an elementary coordinator role associated with a retirement. Adjustments would also be made to the K-12 art program, secondary world language offerings, and high school mathematics and technology support positions. Additionally, a data services position, currently unfilled, will remain so, and teacher aide hours will be decreased by some 10%, for a savings of over $226,000.
A reduction in teacher aide hours alone would mean $226,00 saved.
Electric buses on the horizon
Lennon then spoke again, sharing that the district has been negotiating a partnership with Highland Electric Fleets to establish charging infrastructure for electric buses. The eight-year service agreement, which would cost the district $1.14 million, includes infrastructure development (including charging stations for the four EVs the district plans to have by the end of the next fiscal year), planning, implementation, and staff training for use of the new vehicles. It’s anticipated that about $171,000 of state aid would be provided to help offset this cost.
Financial Overview and Tax Implications
In all, Lennon said, the total proposed budget of $191,504,833, would be a 3.55% increase from the current year. Revenue sources are projected to grow by 5.61%, with an assigned fund balance increase of $90,900 allocated for upcoming capital projects. The property tax levy is set to rise by 3.4%, aligning precisely with the tax cap, for a total of $175,813,222.
Scarsdale homeowners whose houses are valued at the town median of $1.32 million can expect their taxes to rise by $415, while residents in the Mamaroneck strip, where homes’ median assessed value is $1.971 million, may see a $62 decrease.
A comparison of the 2024-25 budget and the draft budget for the upcoming fiscal yeaer.
Budget built to accomplish educational goals
With the numbers of the budget shared, Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, then provided an overview as to the value all those dollars will deliver. The proposed budget, he said, is “…focused on cultivating a vibrant academic culture where critical and creative thinking flourish.” Among the benefits to students, he said, are the following:
Small class sizes in the elementary schools
A strong house and team structure in the middle school
A dynamic and enriched program of study at the high school
Expanded special ed classes in middle school and high school
A continuously improving elementary-school math program
The development of performance-based assessments that align with strategic plan policies.
Authentic global opportunities through partnerships with other organizations.
Implementation of sustainability projects.
“This budget allows us to continue to nurture an academic environment where every student can thrive,” McIntosh concluded.
A better student lifestyle
Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Student Services Eric Rauschenbach discussed still other benefits that students and the district will reap, including: Construction of a synthetic turf practice field at SHS
A multi-year plan to replace elementary school playgrounds
Continued investment is social worker supports
Maintaining investment in technology
Increasing school security
The funding of pre-referendum architectural engineering and construction manage costs associated with the development of a multi-year capital project
Four electric school buses
Professional learning for educators
Board member Leah Dembitzer question whether the current reserve levels will effect the district’s ability to go to bond next year, but Lennon stated it is unlikely, as the district’s credit rating is currently AAA. However, he said, “I think as budgets are getting tighter and our revenue sources are are not really growing consistently, we are starting to rely on that fund balance to balance the budget. And I think that's some of the concern I shared in the long range financial plan as well.”
Board concern about budget, athletics reductions
Board member Ron Schulhof shared reservations. “I just want this board to understand what what next year's board is going to deal with if healthcare comes in at budget next year. ..You will be in a $1 million hole. You will start in a $1 million hole because of the use of fund balance. It is not sustainable and I I had yet to hear a plan that talks about how we deal with that next year,” he said. “And to me, it is very concerning because it both is not sustainable…I think it's very troubling. and I I want to reiterate that.” Board member Amber Yusuf later echoed these concerns.
Schulhof also made a comment on the administration’s proposal to save money by cutting or having parents contribute to the expenses of three unsanctioned sports: rowing, squash, and fencing. “I personally don't think the approach has been fair. If we're going to do that, then I think we should do it across all sports…in fairness, if we're going to look for expense reductions, I think it should be everywhere, not just five sports, and I think we should start with the sports that, at a per-cost player, are outliers,” he shared.
Dembitzer stated that she, too, has worries about the short-term outlook for the district’s finances. “I believe you reduced what you could, and so I kind of feel like this is where we are right now, but there should be a lot of warning lights going for us to think about what’s going to end up happening for everyone next year. There are a lot of tough questions ahead,” she said to Superintendent Patrick and the rest of administrators present.
Public comments period, condensed
First to speak in the public comments period was Joanne Wallenstein, a 35-year resident of Scarsdale and the editor of Scarsdale10583.com. “I've been following these budgets for many, many years. the number-one thing we’ve always look at is ‘What are our reserves and how many employees do we have?’” she said. “…I'm a big supporter of the schools…but I am concerned.” She cited a slide shown at a November BOE meeting that indicated the district’s reserves will be depleted in 2026-7. “…If it is the case, we we're going to have a problem, because we can't raise taxes…” She noted that in the past decade, the schools have increased headcount by seventy full-time employees. “… I would think carefully about increasing headcount again,” she said.
Next up was a SHS student who shared how disheartening it has been to hear of the planned removal of the high school’s multivariable calculus class, which for the first time this year has had an assigned teacher and built-in study times. He shared that the class size has grown steadily. “Removing this class right now at the exact moment when interest is climbing, would be like building a ladder half way up and then telling students that they cannot climb higher, not because they are unprepared, but because the next rung isn't just isn't there,” he said. Three other students followed, also advocating for keeping multivariable calculus in the curriculum. A parent commented that on a visit to Cornell, a faculty member informed her family that they expect students to be ready to take rigorous mathematics classes.
How healthy is the district’s healthcare plan?
One focal point of the business portion of the BOE’s meeting was a conversation with the district’s longtime health consultant. Meghan Troy prefaced the talk by proviidng an overview of Scarsdale’s health insurance plan. “As we're feeling this year in a self-insured plan, the employer takes on the risk and pays for claims directly. So this means that costs can fluctuate and higher claims mean higher costs…We use stop- loss insurance to limit the potential costs, which means when a claimant hits a high dollar amount…our stop-loss insurance kicks in,” she shared.”
With that, the district’s healthcare advisor took the podium. He explained that self-insurance yields significant savings in terms of administrative costs. He also shared a slide showing actual vs. projected paid claims, below, and a bar graph illustrating the volatility in health claims.
Discussion of appointing a student to the BOE
On September 12th, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a stipulation that school boards must appoint an ex-officio (non-voting) student to join the board. The sitting board members discussed the possible ways by which a student might be appointed, most likely through a student election. The responsibilities of the position include attending Board of Education meetings and schools’ government meetings. Sitting board members’ children would likely be disqualified, and there was discussion as to whether nonresident students might also not be allowed to run. Good academic standing and a letter of recommendation from the student’s dean would likely be required, and the ideal students would be juniors or seniors.
During the public comments period, one resident, Deborah Skolnik (that’s me!), spoke via Zoom. She suggested the in addition to candidates obtaining a letter of recommendation from their dean, the Board consider reaching out to candidates’ parents for confirmation that their child is up to the demands of an ex-officio board member. In addition, she (me!) suggested the Board give thought to the kinds of information they would like the student Board member to share, as well as any pertinent information from Board meetings that the student Board member to share with the student body.
After a few perfunctory announcements, the meeting concluded.