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.
Rolling gradebook still riling up parents
Board community outreach commencing
Celebrating a blue-ribbon finish
Can a $40 million bond be justified?
Plus more
BY DEBORAH SKOLNIK
There is much to report from the Board meeting this past Monday. The school year has brought with it the need for firming up security procedures, holding teacher pow-wows, and more. But while the present whirlwind could easily pull focus, Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick and the Board’s members spent what seemed to be a preponderance of the evening discussing the future, namely the long game that will need to be played when formulating the next school bond proposal.
The meeting lasted more than two hours. Here’s the shortcut.
No kidding…we’re searching for a junior BOE member
Shortly after the meeting began, BOE President Suzie Hahn brought up a topic discussed in the previous meeting: Due to recent legislation, all school districts outside New York City must establish a process to include at least one ex officio non-voting student board member on the BOE, effective July 2025. At present, no method seems to have been determined for selecting a young person to fill the role. “I wanted to ask if anyone on the Board [who] would like to look at this topic to reach out to me sometime after the meeting,” Hahn said.
Let’s meet for coffee
Hahn next picked up a thread of another conversation from the previous BOE meeting: an initiative to increase community engagement. To do so, the Board is reintroducing community coffees. “We have two scheduled—Wednesday, October 30th at ten a.m., and Wednesday, November sixth at seven p.m.,” Hahn shared. Both coffees will be held in rooms 171-172 at the high school.
Brew and Board The Board of Ed will hold community coffees in October and November.
We’re big winners!
Superintendent Patrick shared another perk of living in our district: Earlier in the day, the U.S. Department of Education had announced the 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools, and Scarsdale High was recognized as one of four exemplary, high-performing schools in New York State, and one of only 54 nationwide. “This designation is presented annually to some of the best schools in the nation, affirming the hard work and dedication of students, educators, families, and the community to exemplary teaching and learning,” Patrick said.
So long, cell phones?
Superintendent Patrick also shared that he attended a conference in Albany last Friday hosted by the New York State United Teachers and Coalition Partners in Education, Public Policy, and Healthcare. Titled “Disconnected: A Convening Exploring the Impact of Cell Phones, Social Media, and Technology on Children's Schools and Learning,” the conference was focused on minimizing the negative effects of the aforementioned on students. “While no legislation has yet been proposed, the Governor, who kicked off the conference, has indicated an interest in making smartphones off-limits to students in schools during the school day,” Dr. Patrick said. Attendees heard from school districts who have already implemented a no-phones policy. A sign of things to come for Scarsdale? TBD.
Snazzy school-building upgrades
Since a later portion of the evening would be centered around capital projects that might lead to a bond, Superintendent Patrick showcased some recent improvements around the district, made possible through a combination of budget funds, bonds, and donations. “Throughout these new and renovated spaces, our students are engaging as critical thinkers and problem solvers, enjoying a more comfortable environment for learning and nurturing their own wellbeing,” he said.
A slideshow then featured appealing images of upgraded areas among the district’s school buildings, including Edgewood Elementary’s new library, Fox Meadow Elementary’s auditorium lighting upgrade, Greenacres Elementary’s new Learning Commons Area, and Heathcote Elementary’s maker space. “[I] invite everyone in the community now to begin thinking and actually to begin dreaming about what might be next for Scarsdale schools,” Dr. Patrick concluded. He then noted a few significant upcoming parent events, including one the following day, during which SHS Principal Kenneth Bonamo would discuss the rolling gradebook.
Board advocacy at the county, state level
Board member Ron Schulhof shared work he has done to further the board’s interests at the county and State levels. The previous week, he liaised with the Westchester Putnam School Board Associations (WESTPUT) to discuss the upcoming board resolutions of the New York State School Board Association (NYSBA). “Those resolutions are what guides NYSBA’s advocacy on behalf of school boards around New York State. The Westchester Putnam School Board Association is similar to NYSBA, but is focused obviously on Westchester and Putnam counties. So myself and other board members from around those two counties met with leadership of WESTPUT as well as a NYSBA representative to go through each of the NYSBA resolutions and discuss what makes sense for Westchester and Putnam. And then, WESTPUT releases that to local boards,” Schulhof explained. “Our Board, now, at the most local level, will be discussing those same resolutions…I just wanted to share with the community that this is part of some of the behind-the-scenes advocacy work that happens from both our board, to groups that we are a part of, from the county to state level.”
Assessment reports to be a major focus for the year
Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, was next to speak, and gave a preview of the upcoming education reports for this year. The focus will be on assessment—how our district measures its students, programs, and progress as they align with the goals of the district’s strategic plan. “The first education report will be on October 21st and will include a traditional view of some standardized measures of content and skill development,” McIntosh said. Among other data, he will review state tests scores, including comparisons to similar districts and other metrics our district tracks related to admissions testing and college access.
This will not be the only assessment project. McIntosh plans to also assess student feedback, review curriculum changes, provide updates in ELA, math, and science, and highlight new courses and more. “More specifics about the content will be shared as the report date approaches,” he promised.
School safety update
Events such as the recent school tragedy in Georgia make safety an ever-increasing priority. Erich Rauschenbach, Director of Special Education and Student Services, provided reassuring information. Thanks to good weather, the majority of schools have completed more than half of their mandated fire drills, he reported. Most schools have had lockdown drill as well. Per a new regulation from New York State, parents and community stakeholders will now receive an email the week that drills will occur.
“It seems like after the tragedy in Georgia there have been…so many threats to schools in Connecticut and Long Island—even in Bronxville recently, and Rockland County,” Hahn noted. “Can you speak to a little bit of what's going on?” Rauschenbach confirmed that there has indeed been uptick of threats, mostly via the internet and nonspecific in nature. “None of these have been found credible,” he shared, adding, “We try and stay abreast of all of those different threats out there.” He praised the Scarsdale Police and Fire Departments for their role in safeguarding the town’s schools, students, staff, and faculty.
Public comments
[SUMMARY] First to approach the podium during the initial public comments session was a resident of 146 Brite Avenue who is a member of the Scarsdale Volunteer Fighterfighters. “New York State overwhelmingly passed [a] property tax exemption bill…for…volunteer first responders,” he said. The bill grants a 10% property tax exemption to active volunteer emergency service workers who have completed at least two years of consecutive service, and a lifetime exemption for those with 20 years of active service. The speaker urged Scarsdale to adopt the bill, saying, “[It] will align Scarsdale with numerous neighborhood communities and Westchester Country in supporting the community.”
[SUMMARY] The next three speakers all shared concerns about an ongoing hot-button topic: the rolling gradebook. Lisa Gans of 45 Harvest Drive called it “…a step backward for the school and especially for our students.” Among its faults, she contended, the gradebook makes it difficult for students who start off the year slowly to see their progress throughout the year. Gans also asserted that struggling students are unable to see their grades are slipping. “We should be providing our students with both a quarter grade and a numerical rolling grade,” she said. “ That way, our students could easily determine whether they made real progress or struggled during a quarter, and they will know exactly where they stand overall.”
[SUMMARY] Stacey Greenberg, of 77 Popham Road, voiced her own criticisms. ”…the topic of assessment policies at the high school are very near and dear to me and so many others. And so I ask…did you consider getting rid of the rolling gradebook?” she said. She stated that the system exacerbates student stress because it leads to overloading of assignments, “and not permitting a student to truly ever know where his or her grades are.“ Greenberg then offered to share a spreadsheet demonstrating that the gradebook could actually produce different year-end grades that a traditional system. “The rolling gradebook actually does not benefit any student,” she concluded.
Greenberg also shared disappointment with a policy followed by some school departments of not returning assessments for students to keep. “Students who want to learn from their mistakes and improve are not always able to do so if they cannot look at their assessments at times that are convenient to them when they need to study for the next test or a final exam. I appreciate the teachers make themselves available for parents and students to come in, but that's not always feasible,” she said.
[SUMMARY] Amy Frank, of Burgess Road, shared her perspective on the rolling gradebook as well.“I just don't understand why there was really no conversation about the decision to change to the rolling grade book, and why there was no conversation to explain why we decided to implement [it]— what the benefits are versus how we did it before,” she commented. Frank cited a Long Island school district that allows students to still see their grades in the traditional manner. “Is Scarsdale planning a platform for that so kids could figure out what their grades are when they move from semester to semester?” she asked. “I don't necessarily have one way or the other how I feel. I feel like there has not really been enough conversation of explanation from the administration why we decided to change.”
Superintendent Patrick responded that in addition to the discussion Mr. Bonamo would have with parents of older high school students the next day, a reconstituted assessment committee would soon review the rolling gradebook and make recommendations later this semester.
A look at budget-funded improvements
Superintendent introduced Assistant Superintendent for Business Andrew Lennon, who provided an update on projects funded in this year’s budget. Among them: climate and stream mitigation (including efforts to address the flooding problems at SHS); improvements at Fox Meadow’s field to fix water retention issues; the replacement of steam traps at SHS; and upgrades to the water system at the Middle School.
“Not everything we do is a capital project,” Lennon continued, speaking about the considerable amount of work done through the operations and maintenance budget or community gifts. He cited accomplishments such as classroom renovation work at Fox Meadow and a stunning renovation of the music tower. “It was in need of a facelift, so [now] we've got new paint, new wood finishing, new lights, and new carpeting,” he shared.
No discussion of facilities upgrades would be complete without a mention of the SHS auditorium project (this initiative financed via a bond). “No significant concerns [have been] found that would alter our timeline, so we're really excited to look forward to a grand opening sometime in the spring semester,” Lennon reported.
Discussion of a potential $40 million bond
Superintendent Patrick introduced the second part of his presentation. Its aim: to outline a proposed process by which the administration and board might arrive at a set of capital improvements that would potentially be funded through a bond proposition. He showed two timeline options. In the first, well-defined one, desired capital improvements would be decided upon and hopefully approved by the board by the end of 2025, and a referendum would be held in the spring of 2026. This would enable the administration to move forward quickly with sending out requests for proposals for an architect and engineering firm, and a construction management firm.
The second timeframe would be attenuated: The Board would give the green light to begin the bond process, while identifying needed and important capital projects that might get included at a tax-neutral level, or different from that, at the same time a more reasonable timeline for the bond process was decided.
For those asking, “Didn’t we just pass a bond in 2023?” Superintendent Patrick explained that the bond had been relatively small. In addition, a debt incurred years ago for an energy-related contract has now been repaid, potentially making it less onerous to take on new debt. More old debts will be repaid by 2028, making it possible to borrow an equal amount of funds, roughly $40 million, at a neutral cost to taxpayers. "Now's the time to start talking about it,” Superintendent Patrick recommended.
What are our facilities like right now?
For an overview of the current state of the Scarsdale Free Union School District, Superintendent Patrick presented slides illustrating enrollment and the size and spaces within each school. “Student learning should be at the center of this entire conversation,” he said, calling the statement a guiding principle to keep in mind. Another guideline, he contended, is “that we think about the work of our facilities, maintaining and improving them, as requiring…both annual allocations…and injections of capital that come through process.” The final guiding principle, he added, “[is] informed decision making—that we'll be at our best when we have the information we need to weigh alternatives and make thoughtful decisions about what's in the best interest of our students and the community.”
The five-step program
Superintendent Patrick laid out five steps for the bond determination process: First, determine exactly where our facilities stand, and then decide what projects will and will not be considered; second, recruit and select partners to do the work; third, engage a representative stakeholder facilities committee; fourth, define, refine, and eventually adopt a scope of work. The fifth and final step would be to launch an information campaign to encourage public support
After explaining what would be required to execute each step, Dr. Patrick warned of a potential pitfall. “Does our community—or a majority or some portions of our community—believe that school A or school B was promised that they're next [to undergo upgrades]? I just think we have to be open and transparent about that and hear what people think… because if we don't know that, we could be for some real surprises.” Later, he also stressed the need to remember that the school district is not the only taxing entity in the community. “The Village of Scarsdale also has priorities and a vision for the future, and wants to meet the needs of their community…” he pointed out.
“A great opportunity to envision future learning.”
President Hahn thanked Superintendent Patrick and Lennon for the presentation. It's very informative and a great opportunity for us to envision future learning and living spaces for our students,” she said. “Learning has changed even in the last ten years. We have different learning needs and learning styles. I think being able to imagine spaces tailored to that new way of learning could be very beneficial.” She noted that Board members would be particularly attuned to this while touring the schools.
Board member Robert Klein echoed President Hahn. “We want to build in an infrastructure that is robust for change so that if technology becomes more integrated in the classroom [we are prepared]. Because we're going to have a new crop of teachers, a crop of teachers born with technology, as opposed to some teachers that inherited technology and use it, but maybe are not as necessarily as facile,” he observed.
The bond process will adhere to deadlines.
But can you deliver on schedule?
The Board asked for reassurance that a Spring 2026 bond referendum was realistic. “We wouldn't have presented this if we didn't think it was attainable,” Rauschenbach said. Lennon made a plug for the defined timeline, saying that the projects that turn out best are those for which the experts and contractors are selected early on, in part because they can play a crucial role in rallying stakeholder support. In addition, he said, having a list of projects at the ready makes it easier for the public to understand what the money will be used towards. Ultimately, the defined timeline was approved by the Board.
Discussion of the New York State Board of Education Resolutions
Superintendent Patrick proposed that the Board strongly advocate for a resolution making what he called logical reforms to the civil service system. “[It] can allow us to fill positions that are unfilled because of the system,” he explained.
Schulhof recommended against a proposal allowing for hybrid buses. “Thinking about a hybrid, which also uses diesel and also uses gas, and all of our kids breathing in those fumes as they get on the bus or wait for the bus at the schools, I don't believe we should support this resolution,” he said. “In our district, we have received a grant for some EV buses. We have work underway, which is fantastic…and if there are reforms, we would like to see additional support from the state….” The Board assented.
Superintendent Patrick also addressed a resolution about field testing. “Field testing is time away from instruction. We decline to participate,” he said. “In fact, we don't support the current regime of how testing is administered, how slow the standard setting is and so on. It's not a good system.”
The finale
After a brief discussion of grade grants by the PTA, a second public comment period began, but no one came forward. The meeting ended. After a wide-ranging and thought-provoking meeting, no one, evidently, had anything left to say.