001I call this meeting to order and note that all board members except Suzie Hahn Pascutti and Bob Klein are present, along with Dr. Patrick, Stewart Mattey and Eric Rauschenbach. Good morning to everyone joining us at today's budget forum to collect community input on priorities for the 2023/2024 budget. Hearing from the community during our months long budget planning process is important and we very much appreciate the participation of those who are here today. Please know that there will be many other opportunities in the coming months, including at board meetings, and always via email to ask additional questions and provide feedback. Oh, Bob Klein just arrived. Wonderful, thanks. Okay, with that we'll move on and say to item 1.2, members of the community are now invited to speak. We have a few slides. Oh, we do? Oh,
002alright. I didn't realize that, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking at the agenda. I was just looking at my notes. Alright, well then I'll turn it over to you, Drew. Just to set the stage for a few minutes and then... So good morning. We are pleased to invite public input into the development of a budget proposal for the 2023, '24 school year. Above all, our budget is a means to an end. In the broadest terms, the essential work of our schools is to provide a world class education, ensuring our students are well prepared for their next level of education. We are also increasingly concerned with the importance of student wellbeing and recognize that our work must contemplate ways we can help our youngsters to be good at learning and good at life. While the concept of
003educating the whole child has long been a core value in Scarsdale, the novel challenges brought about by the increasing presence of technology in our lives, and especially social media, as well as the COVID 19 pandemic, have caused us to deepen our focus on what it means to be successful in 2022 and beyond, and what we can do in the classroom and outside the classroom to help our students to flourish. These broad objectives serve as an important decision making lens, especially with respect to our budget. This model provides a useful illustration of the work of our school district. Organized into three spheres, the model highlights the critical functions of our work with students and student learning situated in the center of it all. Importantly, our budget is structured to support all three areas of the organization
004with teaching and learning held up by the operational and student support functions. Of course, the Board of Education and community encompasses all of our work through governance and budgetary support. As we began to emerge from one of the most disruptive and challenging times, our students, families and educators have ever faced, this of course, due to the pandemic, the call from our faculty and administration was really to find ways to rebuild our connections and our learning communities, including by focusing on wellbeing, inclusion and belonging. Thus, we adopted the phrase, 'Connecting our Wide Community' as a way to align our priorities for this year. This phrase has served as a touchstone for this year, but I want to point out that there is still a tremendous amount of ongoing work related to our strategic plan. These areas
005remain priorities as they reflect our ongoing efforts to innovate and create learning experiences for our students that prepare them for the future. To that end, I do think it can be helpful to step back and remind everyone of the structures that fundamentally drive our program in Scarsdale. Approximately 80% of our budget funds the salaries and benefits of the people working to create that world class education. The number of people required to do this is ultimately determined by our key educational structures. At the elementary level, our program is based around class sizes that support the individual development of each student with no more than 22 students in grades K-3 and 24 students in grades 4-5. For students classified as having special educational needs, legal mandates related to student ratios and eligibility for specialized programs and services
006drive that programming. This is dynamic based on the particular mix of students we have at any given time. What we call encore programming includes learning in the visual and performing arts, physical education and Spanish instruction. Students in our elementary schools engage in these learning experiences on a six day rotation. At the middle school, our program is driven primarily by the house and team model, where a cluster of educators work with a team of roughly 90 students and get to know them extremely well. Students remain in their houses for all three years. Like the elementary level, our special education and encore programming is an essential ingredient to the student experience. And in the middle school, we begin to offer school-sponsored, building off the PTA-sponsored, co and extracurricular activities. These are designed to build community and to
007appeal to our students and community members passions. And finally, at the high school, our program is really driven by the wide range of engaging course offerings. While there are state mandated course credit requirements, Scarsdale High School students go far beyond these expectations to pursue a balanced education that also affords them the opportunity to make meaningful choices connected to their passions and their interests. Co and extracurricular activities are even more tailored to student passions at the high school with a wider range of options and the ability for students to act on those interests by proposing new clubs, sports and activities over time. So with that background shared, I'll turn it over to Stewart to review the budget timeline and then we'll take the public comment. Very good. Thank you very much Drew. So the budget discussion
008timeline mirrors what we've done in past years. Of course, we're here today listening to community input on '23/24 budget priorities. We'll start off the new calendar year at the first meeting in January where the district and administration will present budget development and key factors and staffing recommendations for the upcoming school year. And then we'll have budget session number one a day before Valentine's Day. We'll look at year-end projections for the current year, what the draft plan is for the '23/24 budget drivers, and then we'll start to look at some of those components as listed. Budget session two, we'll have an update, and then additional presentations on those components including Dr. Macintosh's budget, special education, SSEM technology, and facilities. Budget session three, the budget will start to become much clearer and the numbers much tighter. At
009that point, we'll have a full budget presentation and any other updates at that point. And we'll have another budget forum on March 27th. And then scheduled for board adoption of the budget on April 17th, which will lead us to the district-wide vote on May 16th. Thanks so much Stewart and Drew. Okay, with that, members of the community are now invited to speak. We will take comments from the audience first and then from those participating via Zoom. We understand that there are two organizations that have joint speakers with one person here in room 172 and one person remote. We ask those two groups to please wait until the end of in-person public comments before coming to the podium so that we may try to accommodate your request to have both in-person and remote participation. When it
010is your turn to speak, please state your name and address and if you represent an organization. Unlike at our business meetings, there is no time limit, but we ask that you be mindful of the time so that everyone who wishes to speak has an opportunity. For those commenting remotely, when it is your turn to speak, please completely mute the livestream voice. Please turn on your camera. Please unmute yourself. We will let let you know if we cannot hear your voice. We would also appreciate your mailing your questions and comments to [email protected]. They will help Stewart track and answer frequently asked questions for the community to reference. Thank you. Good morning all. My name is Esthela Lecuona. Kids elementary ages are curious questioners, sponges. They cover anything, any subject, any language. We need to invest in
011our elementary schools in a more robust and interesting language curriculum. Our children's can become bilingual or at least carry a very good level of conversation by fifth grade. Native speakers and advanced students need challenge. An aide who can help them with grammar exercises, conversation circles, or maybe another language option in our elementary level. Please consider these options in next year's budget as options to improve the curriculum. Kids and parents will be grateful. Gracias. Thank you. Hi, my name's Maryanne Lee. My address is 18 Drake Road. I am representing Edgewood School as the PTC liaison and wanted to share our budget statement. Edgewood's budget priorities are largely focused on a desire to improve the quality of academic instruction within the school as well as an upgrade to certain facilities. We led a budget study and had
012over 30 responses to that study and subsequently multiple parents who provided additional comment. This summarizes the input from that group, which I'll share with you guys via the email address provided. And the highlights in instruction and learning are that survey respondents noted the drop, particularly in math, in state test proficiency from 2019 to 2022. This drop combined with the fact that Edgewood achieved the lowest proficiency rate in the district and some observations about the quality of teaching and learning in the school from parents across grades, raise questions about how Scarsdale can better prioritize budget to understand gaps and support enhancements in either curriculum or the quality of teaching and learning at Edgewood. Some suggestions for curricular and instructional enhancements from the community include an independent review and assessment of Edgewood instructional delivery and quality of
013instruction. This database assessment to identify the root causes of current learning gaps in a recommendation for evidence-based initiatives to close those gaps as a starting point can help the administration better understand the needs of all learners. Math and STEM coaching support for instruction. Respondents asked for additional oversight of the quality of instruction, particularly in math and STEM. Edgewood should focus on math and STEM performance and outcomes, including test scores, grades, recognition, and independent inter-district competitions, and ensuring the curriculum can deliver those outcomes in developing teachers' skills for achieving those outcomes should be the highest objective. Teacher development and systems to improve family communication, particularly around supporting instruction, enhancing, encouraging and supporting teacher communication with parents, updating teacher websites, publishing curriculum maps, sharing updates on what is happening or has happened in the classroom. Parents want
014to support their children and parents need information to do that. Children come home and say they forgot what they did that day, especially with the addition of new curriculum. Much of the communication is often reactive. So we are encouraged to go to teachers to get information, whereas widespread proactive communication can help parents better understand and support their students learning at home. Enhance communication to families, both in the prioritization results and comments, multiple respondents noted a need for increased communication to families about all components of the school curriculum and school model. In comparison to other districts, they note a lower frequency of proactive communication, which has eroded some trust in what is happening in classrooms. That is enhanced by the most recent data. Some families have experienced, quote, 'a refusal to listen more to community input
015and to shut out basic best practices,' which has had a negative impact. After-school tutoring or increasing additional interventions. Some respondents suggested additional tutoring for students as an area of interest for families, noting that Edgewood is ranked the lowest in both math and ELA out of all five elementary schools. And lastly, additional experiential activities that support curriculum. Respondents noted a desire for enrichment in the school that is currently lacking, which should be weaved into the curriculum. Science fairs, spelling bees are examples of that. Other districts offer this, and these are specific opportunities that we believe Edgewood could adopt efficiently and be prioritized in budget. Recognition and independent inter-district competitions was noted as an opportunity to enhance both engagement and high quality learning experiences. And then lastly, Edgewood families are aware that the administration's response has been
016that state test data is a blunt instrument and not a full picture of learning and acknowledge and agree that there are several external factors that may have contributed to last year's drop in the data. However, in order to keep Scarsdale the leader in education nationally and ensure consistency and learning experiences across the district, Edgewood families ask for both budgetary and strategic prioritization by the Board of Education for a data-driven understanding of opportunities and continued innovation to improve the schooling experience. We would like to see the implementation of creative initiatives that will move the schooling experience to improve against any gaps in a way that prioritizes the student experience and engagement. And Edgewood families would like to see this led by high quality instruction, aligned extracurricular programming and additional support opportunities for all students, not just
017ones that have a low enough gap that allow them to have access to interventions during the school day, for all students, that will be led by the district and the school administration. With respect to facilities, the Edgewood administration would like to prioritize funding to upgrade the K-2 playground area and create a more inclusive environment for neuro-diverse learners while enhancing facilities for all students. While the playground is regularly evaluated and meets safety standards, the administration would like to support the needs of all learners through an upgrade to this facility with new equipment that supports multiple modalities of engagement. There is also a community suggestion regarding facilities, particularly around drainage in the fields, as they are prone to flooding after heavy rain or melting snow. I will include a summary of Edgewood's budget priorities across all of
018the respondents in my follow up. Thank you for your statement and for emailing that to us. Hi, my name is Rachana Singh. I'm speaking as a budget- Is this fine? Okay. I'm speaking as a budget liaison for Quaker Ridge and this statement has been prepared in consultation with Quaker Ridge PTA and Quaker Ridge administration. As you know, the student population at Quaker Ridge is the largest among the elementary schools in the district. 532 students attend Quaker Ridge. That's a hundred more than even the next highly populated elementary school, Fox Meadow at 423, and significantly more than Edgewood at 382, Heathcote at 366 and Green Acres at 342. Furthermore, Quaker Ridge's 532 children, there are nine sections of ICT classrooms and a bridge program across grades. However, it is my understanding that regardless of the student
019population, every elementary school has one full-time school psychologist and also benefits from a traveling psychologist. Quaker Ridge is experiencing a high volume of students in need of social and or emotional support, and that often manifests in challenging and disruptive behavior at schools. Our school and in particular, our teachers and students, are feeling the strain of insufficient professional support for social emotional needs, for many of our children, particularly in this COVID environment, post COVID environment. Our full-time school psychologist, Dr. Kutin-Senzon, is a fabulous asset to the Quaker Ridge community, but her time is mostly consumed with mandated counseling and testing. As a result, Dr. Gil and Ms. Hefner are often required to step in and provide counseling and assistance that would be best provided by an actual school work social worker or a psychologist. This distracts
020from their many other responsibilities. Based upon the Quaker Ridge population, Quaker Ridge needs greater and more permanent access to the mental health professionals. This will benefit the students, the staff, the teachers, and the Quaker Ridge community as a whole. On behalf of Quaker Ridge community, we're asking that the district consider our request to hire either a full-time school psychologist or a social worker at Quaker Ridge. We are hoping that this hire will interface both with teachers and students. This is an important request, as we want to be proactive and not reactive to the mental health challenges we are facing and seeing in the building. We believe that if you're not proactive in hiring, the social-emotional challenges may intensify. Quaker Ridge Elementary students and teachers need this support. We would like to stress that it's the
021people, not the programs, that make the difference in education in student outcomes and achievement. We're asking the district leaders to implement a high impact strategy of hiring another mental health professional at Quaker Ridge. We need it. Thank you. Thank you. (phone ringing) Is there anybody else in person before we go to the two organizations that wanna do remote? Part remote, part in-person? Hi. Good morning everyone- Hold on one second, Chris. Let's just make sure- Oh, you're not gonna, oh, you're not. Oh, I didn't realize. I thought you were still doing it. Last minute change in the program here. So, good morning everyone. My name is Christopher Bach and together with Mayra Kirkendall-Rodríguez, we are the Scarsdale Parent Teacher Council budget study co-chairs for the 2023/2024 budget study season. We thank you for holding this session
022so that parents can share with you their budget priorities for the upcoming academic year. As PTC budget study chairs, we have been communicating with the budget study liaisons in all of Scarsdale's seven schools. We began this year's PTC budget process over a month ago by meeting with the PTC officers, the PTA presidents and budget study liaisons. We encourage them to perform community outreach and to solicit feedback from the school community at large. Much of what you've heard already today. The budget study liaisons also engaged with principals at each of the schools to obtain their feedback on items that should be prioritized. We saw a great amount of parent engagement in this initial part of our process with over 50 parents submitting feedback. We hope to hold a budget information session in the evening during budget
023season. And we invite interested district personnel to further discuss and elaborate on budget issues and decisions. The PTC strongly supports proactive engagement of the parent community during the budget process. The budget priorities and questions that we will share in this statement are agreed upon by the PT Council, which advocates for budget items that benefit the broader school community. In our process it was important for us to understand some of these common themes or concerns that have been identified across the district at all levels and at all schools. This morning, in addition to hearing from us, you have heard, or will hear, from some of the individual school PTA budget study liaisons on school specific requests. But we divided our comments into two principal areas. Number one, items that are identified by the school community at
024large through our outreach efforts distilled into four common themes, and two, questions regarding the district's financial performance and long-term planning and debt strategy. From the parent community, we identified four real budget priority categories. So this is the category, the principal area one that we had identified. Within there, there are four distinct categories. Number one, delivery of educational services and student supports. Number two, safety and security as related to transportation, traffic and grounds. Number three, upgraded facilities to either enhance or replace existing aging items. And number four, sustainability. So category one, delivery of educational services and student supports. As we continue to assess the impact of COVID 19 on our children as a nation and locally, study after study have shown ways in which our children's learning and school experiences have been impacted by the pandemic.
025Last year, the PTC advocated strongly for increased mental health services, which we were glad to see incorporated into the budget. This year we would like to highlight and emphasize our support for the maintenance and enhancement of educational services and student support. The PT Council strongly supports continued small class size, robust learning and mental health student support, differentiated teaching and learning, and the development of the whole child. We support and encourage initiatives related to mental health and wellness as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additionally, PTC strongly supports continuing enhancements in curriculum and professional development district-wide to enrich and improve student learning in all schools. In our outreach, we received a significant amount of feedback, specifically from Edgewood parents, requesting greater clarity and understanding of the use of various assessments, including state tests in understanding student
026growth and learning. And I think Maryanne hit on a number of these issues earlier. So we ask could the district clarify how state test assessments are used to understand student learning, specifically at the elementary level? Is there any concern on the part of the district related to any state assessment trends? Why? Why not? Would you discuss the other types of assessments that take place during the year? And please elucidate the types of resources and support offered to students as needed. Category two again, is the safety and security as related to transportation, traffic and grounds. This budget priority includes a request that the district conduct a full transportation study, which has been carried over as a request from the PTC for multiple years. Due to parent feedback, we respectfully request that the following be reviewed. Number
027one, bus capacity. Do we have enough buses and drivers to manage capacity and are they driving the most efficient routes? Two, fleet improvements. Do all seat belts work? What are the anticipated maintenance costs? And is a cost benefit analysis of electric buses needed? Can GPS tracking be added to buses? If so, at what cost? Number three, the range of determining who qualifies for busing. Does this need to be on a range basis? If that range includes students crossing areas, such as Post Road, Mamoronek Road, Palmer Road, or other high traffic areas, sometimes at late hours or at dusk? Should the district include a danger criterion and not only a distance? And fourth, the use of bus monitors, particularly for elementary schools. Kindergarten age children may require more support than only one driver can provide. So
028we'd like to take a look at that. In addition, several general traffic and ground safety related items have emerged in our discussions, including upgrading the traffic signage at Green Acres, improved lighting at Edgewood and other fields and other items such as flood mitigation, which may require coordination with the Scarsdale Village. I'll now turn it over to Lauren to cover the remaining two priorities and to discuss the priorities pertaining to the district's financial health and long-term planning and depth strategy. Good morning. Thank you Chris. And I also like to thank Mayra who couldn't be here in person this morning and all of our school budget study liaisons for all the work they've done to increase community engagement. And thank you all for holding this forum. I'm Lauren Grossberg, the President of the PTC. So the third
029area we'd like to cover is upgraded facilities to either enhance or replace existing aging items. We received significant feedback on specific physical spaces that are aging at each of the schools and that need to be addressed. The one area we want to highlight is the high school auditorium. The auditorium has been discussed in prior years. The role of the PTC is to identify and understand community concerns and to advocate for projects that benefit the school community at large. We believe this project fits squarely in that purview. The PT Council strongly advocates for the auditorium project to be prioritized and encourages the district to have further discussion to answer all questions raised by the community. In our early outreach, we also received parent feedback related to improvements in technology and technology classrooms, specifically at the middle
030school, as well as requests for improved classrooms and furniture to promote flexibility and collaboration. Other facility related priorities raised by the parent community include the following. A request for improved library facilities at the middle school, Fox Meadow and Heathcote, technology classrooms at the middle school, meeting room at Quaker Ridge, gardens at Fox Meadow and Heathcote, the cafeterias at the middle school and recess facilities, such as playgrounds at Quaker Ridge, Edgewood and Heathcote that may be reaching the end of their acceptable lifespan, as well as new basketball hoops and backboards at Fox Meadow. We recognize that some of these improvement requests are identified in the district's capital projects document and realize that due to budgetary constraints, we cannot tackle all capital improvement projects at the seven schools simultaneously. However, the PTC would like to understand what
031the plan and schedule are for investments in capital improvement projects, whether in the 2023/2024 budget or financed via a future bond issue. We would like to know what the district has identified as priorities, when it is anticipated the items will be addressed and how they will be financed. The fourth category is sustainability. Depending on the results of a cost benefit analysis, the PTC would like to highlight initiatives that support sustainability. In our outreach, a number of parents recommended an investment in sustainability initiatives on all of our campuses outdoors, such as using more compostable materials in cafeterias, the use of electric vehicles, including buses, the use of solar panels on flat roof buildings, and continuing our district-wide battery recycling program. The second of the two buckets that Chris referenced in the opening was fiscal issues. The
032PTC finds it very important to continue preserving the highest credit rating possible, which has a significant impact on Scarsdale's cost of future borrowing during bond issues, and is important for taxpayers. As the budget process continues, we will have questions about fund balance, available cash and leverage indebtedness of the district. Scarsdale currently has a credit rating of AAA, which helps at lower its powering costs. Moody's ratings nvestor has not published a report about the Scarsdale district since 2021. So here are some questions. Do you envision any changes in the current credit rating? Are there plans to establish a long-term financial plan, which would also include the timing and costs of capital projects? Will the district conduct an analysis of how the current inflationary environment will impact the cost of any renovations or other district projects? Are
033there plans to buy a software system to generate payroll payments or to outsource that function? How would the decision impact the budget? And are you meeting with the staff and officials of Scarsdale Village to understand the timing and costs of their projects? We thank you for your time and attention to the Scarsdale school budget and to the financial health of our district. Thank you for your statement. Good morning everyone. My name is Andrea Fowler. I'm Edgewood PTA president and I was asked to read a statement by one of our families who couldn't be here this morning. 'Dear all. As you're in the process of discussing the budget of our schools and potential improvements to curriculum, we would like to use this opportunity to bring up the current Spanish program at Edgewood. Our children are native
034Spanish speakers and they're not benefiting from the program in the way it is currently taught. It has been very frustrating for our older son, now in fifth grade, to spend this instruction time several times a week practicing the pronunciation of basic words that he has known since preschool. He is bored and distracted and wasting time. Instruction time at school should be used to learn new things and improve upon skills. This is not happening for many families at Edgewood who like us are also native Spanish speakers. For example, our first great daughter has five native Spanish speakers in her class. This is only for one grade and one elementary school. How many children across the district are facing similar issues? We think our children and others would benefit from a more advanced program to sign for
035students that have a knowledge of the language, where they have the opportunity to improve their reading, grammar, and writing skills. Alternatively, they could have the option to learn a different language, such as French, which is also offered in the middle school. We know that Edgewood is an amazing school and we just want our children to feel challenged, encouraged and supported in every subject. We appreciate your support and understanding. Many thanks, Alexandra Portella and Alejandro Ariasa. Thank you. And if you could email us that statement or have them email us, that would be great. Thank you. Hi, my name is Erin Resco. I'm a parent from the Edgewood community. Just to piggyback on the statement that Andrea wrote, my children are not native Spanish speakers, but so many people have already eloquently shared their ideas for
036improving the core competencies. I wanted to focus a little bit on the specials that are offered. So I've spent the better part of my life attempting to learn a second language. It has been a huge struggle for me. I was not offered Spanish or French or any other language until middle school. When I moved here I was very excited to hear that my children would be learning another language starting as early as second grade. And while I didn't know why they couldn't start learning in kindergarten, second grade was better than what I was offered. And it was better than nothing. Until I had children who were in the Spanish program for multiple years, and I have to say, it might as well have been nothing. My daughter who's been taking Spanish for two years has
037never said a Spanish word at home unless I've asked her a question, which she can't understand. The most basic questions. What did you do in class today, Ellie? "Mom, I don't understand. Can you ask me in English?" Okay. Well if you're going to be taking Spanish, I'd like you to learn Spanish. And if you're not going to learn Spanish, you might as well be doing something else. So the time that even my children are spending learning Spanish, might as well be doing something else. Just to echo what Andrea's family has said. I know that this is just one special, but it is important. I use Spanish every day in my work and I would have loved the opportunity to be better at it. We know that children learn languages better than adults. So the earlier
038we start, the better. It's great for their future to be multilingual. And while I'm focusing on Spanish, this is true of all of the specials that our children do. Art, music, technology, those are great. My children have had a wonderful experience so far in school, so I'm not sure why the Spanish program doesn't live up to the standards that we've set for the other specials. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your statement. And I'm sorry, I missed your address. I live at 44 Sprague Road. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Claudine Giselle and I live at 10 Kent Road. And I don't have a prepared remark. I think that everybody had great things to say, having been the Fox Meadow budget study person, I get the each school, having been the PTC budget
039study person, I get the whole district, and now being a parent of a high schooler, I get how people with kids in high school just can't come to these meetings. It's just too much. Because what ends up happening on the specials, I wanted to piggyback off what the person just said about the specials so well, is that at this time in the United States, colleges are looking for well-rounded students. So what that means is they wanna see their transcript, they wanna see their core competencies, they wanna see all the computer classes, the language classes, the art and music. They wanna hear about the clubs. And those are equally important. And they wanna see test scores at certain places. And what ends up happening here in Scarsdale is because it's a large district, there's many different
040kinds of people, there's lots of extracurriculars that people could be interested in. The number of interests of people here is very wide. And we can't do everything for everyone at the highest level, it's not humanly possible. And because we have high performing families that live here, the parents step in and start helping with all the extracurriculars, and they do what they can with what's offered in the district. And if the district falls short, we're all resourced and we move on and we find the opportunities elsewhere. And the universities do understand that because this isn't a university, it's a lower school. So I just wanna talk about the kids and how some of the lower schools have a good club system. They have really good afterschool clubs. There's so many clubs in Fox Meadow, we used
041to spend three days reviewing the list of clubs, 'cause there were so many, and calling each other and trying to decide which ones to pick 'cause there were so many. And that the friends would be in the clubs. Then you go to the middle school and there's like nothing. There's like two clubs and you're like, this is a bigger school and there's two clubs. And that also helps with the social experiences of the kids. So then you have a lot of social issues in the middle school, there's no afterschool clubs to speak of compared to Fox Meadow, I know all the lower schools don't have the same club systems, but there could be way more clubs. And then to get into a budget issue, importantly, it was good that you hired the social workers for
042the high school so that the guidance counselors can work on college placement. But the reality is, is that college planning really starts in middle school because that's when you're doing your extracurricular activities and as a student, as a young person, you're identifying your areas of interest that you are gonna then present to colleges. And that is not developed in the middle school at all. It's always been a problem. And that probably needs to get fixed somehow at the middle school. And maybe you need more guidance counselors there to work with the kids the minute they come in, and start working on what their extracurricular activities are and build that up in middle school. And then it continues in high school, so that they're solid when they're finished with high school. And I also volunteer in
043the college office. That's my volunteer job for the last three years. So what I see, at the college office, is that parents come in and they're like, oh my god. We publish a list of which kids get into which schools and what their GPAs were and what their test scores were, and this and that. And so people wanna look at the book and see what the college placement is for the Scarsdale graduates. And then they get upset when they see the book and they see what the reality of life is at this time. So this isn't the best school, it's one of many good schools across the country and the colleges know that. So I'm just here to point out- And then you have to talk with the parents and say, "Well you know, I
044know this doesn't look good, but why don't we look at it more closely and figure out what your student actually did with their time all these years, and let's package it and figure it out and see how there's ways to work this out." So my point is that, when you have those conversations with the high school parents in the college office, those types of things really need to start getting addressed at the middle school. And that's just extra guidance counselors. And I know it costs money, but there are schools that do it. Now public schools, you know, they're always light on the guidance staff. But if this is gonna be a good school, one of the better ones, right now, it's a good school. It's not one of the best. It's good. It could be
045better if the guidance started more for college prep in middle school and there were more extracurricular activities which would make the kids interact with each other more and be more social and maybe cut back on some of the social issues in the middle school. So that's it. I mean there's a lot of good things, but when we go to these meetings, we're looking for improvements. So I just wanna bring that up 'cause it's been a long standing thing and a lot of parents in the high school feel the same way 'cause we discuss it all day long. Anyway, thanks so much for everyone for volunteering I know it's really hard and time consuming and thank you very much for listening. Thank you for sharing your perspective. Is there anyone else in the audience? Okay, go
046ahead Dalya. Give Ron just a minute to promote Nan. Are you going first? I'm gonna go first. Okay, just- You can start 'cause- It will take you a couple minutes. Okay. I'm Dalya Khan. I'm here on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, and I'm here as a co-chair of the school budget portfolio with my co-chair, Nan Mead, who will be speaking next via Zoom. The League thanks the board for creating opportunities like today for public input into the budget. The League encourages the board to increase community outreach efforts with all stakeholders throughout the budget process and encourages the board and its community engagement subcommittees to explore various means and methods of expanding such engagement throughout the year. Also, and particularly with regard to the budget calendar, the League notes, once again, that
047the short turnaround time between the final scheduled budget study session and the community budget forum is problematic for individuals, but particularly for community organizations wishing to study the budget and reach agreement on a collective statement. The League requests that future budget calendars be adjusted accordingly to allow for more detailed study and understanding of the budget and greater opportunity for discussion in the formation of a consensus statement or other community feedback. And I'm just gonna read a list of questions that you guys can answer when you get a chance. So in the general finance category, how is a current budget holding up to the changes in the economy since its adoption? What budget lines, if any, have significantly over or underestimated the district's currently projected income and expenses? And how will that impact planning for next
048year? How do you expect the inflation rate to affect the budget? Will the budget stay within the projected tax cap? If there is a mismatch between inflation and the tax cap, would the board consider going above the tax cap? Do you anticipate additional costs or expenditures that would lead to a material reduction in the undesignated fund balance again? What discussions have you had about the 2026 bond and what projects would be included in it? What do you plan to do with the excess funds from the 2018 bond? What specific expenditures have been requested and denied this year, as indicated in Assistant Superintendent Mattey's report at a Board of Ed meeting earlier this year? Are they being considered for inclusion in next year's budget? What administrative and financial costs are required of the district in order
049to comply with part 130 of the regulations of the commissioner of education relating to substantially equivalent instruction for non-public school students? Do you anticipate further expenditures or ongoing costs in next year's budget related to the evaluation of the processes connected to the IRS issue and any recommended implementations? What is the current amount of stop loss claims and what is the plan if our current insurance carrier fails to renew? So in the area of capital projects of facilities and operations. What renovations are planned for the Scarsdale High School auditorium and how will we fund them? Which projects from the facility's master plan, including the building conditions survey, the fields master plan, and the roof master plan, will be included in the 2023/24 budget? What capital projects will be included in the 2023/24 budget? Will the 2023/24
050budget include any funds for further studies and mitigation for flooding issues at our schools, including at Butler Field? What is the status timeline in remaining items yet to be implemented on the district's three stage cooling plan and the projected costs for next year's budget and beyond? And then the rest of the questions are gonna be asked by Nan. I'm Nan Mead. I'm sorry I can't be there in person today. I live on Carthage Road, but I am doing this call from my office in New York City. So I'm gonna pick up, thank you Dalya for covering the first half. The next set of questions relate to sustainability. There's been some discussion, early discussion about sustainability goals. Oh, I'm so sorry. One second. One second. One second. Okay. There's been some early discussion about sustainability goals.
051Does the board anticipate movement on sustainability projects in the current budget proposal? What specific projects that support sustainability have you identified for the 2023/24 budget? Second question is, has there been a broad assessment on the current or potential future impact of climate change on physical plant, such as the recent work on Butler Field? In other words, how does climate change accelerate wear and tear on the physical plant? Would the board consider such a study in anticipation of future capital expenditures? Next question. Is there anything in next year's budget with respect to district transportation costs, including the transition to electric buses? Okay, the next set of questions relates to personnel and employment. What staffing increases or decreases, if any, do you anticipate for next year's budget, and in which departments and schools? For example, are you
052considering hiring additional college counselors to meet the demand for college counseling hours and assistance, or additional mental health professionals to meet the wellness and emotional needs of our students? Next question. What are your demographic and enrollment predictions for the next school year, and how will they impact on the number of teachers and staff needed for each school? The next question relates to technology. Was the amount designated in the 2022/23 budget adequate to remedy internet access in the schools and provide wifi coverage to all dead spots and Butler Field? If wifi access remains inadequate in any buildings or fields, what is the plan moving forward and what costs are associated with it? The next handful of questions relate to curriculum. Is it the Board of Ed's current assessment of advanced track program in line with the
053timing stated when the program was first adopted? Has the program been assessed at any other time since its adoption? Next, will DEI work be part of the 2023/24 budget? Does the district plan to continue to work with Dr. Derrick Gay and other DEI consultants? Will the ARP grant, American Rescue Plan, which currently funds Dr. Gay's work be renewed? And if not, how will that affect the 2023/24 budget? Is there anything in the budget to assess the transition to and use of Reveal math? Okay, next question relates to safety and security. What safety or security related measures and items will be included in the 2023/24 budget? Are you planning to complete the window mitigation as recommended by all tariffs? And then the final question relates to COVID 19. Are there any remaining pandemic related considerations in
054the 2023/24 budget? Do you plan to continue to assess whether the students are experiencing any remaining gaps due to COVID, both with respect to academic learning loss and social emotional learning loss? And that concludes our questions and I thank you for including me today. Thank you. And thank you. And we'll email a copy. Perfect. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Is there anyone else online? At the moment nobody else has their hand up. Yeah, let's give them a minute. There is now only one attendee, who just spoke. So I think we can close the Zoom. Okay, great. Thank you then, we will close community input and move into wrap up items. I'd like to just remind everyone who had written remarks to please email those to [email protected]. Did you have anything you wanted to add, Drew,
055or that's good? Just appreciation for the input and the thoughtful way that the input has been framed by everybody who shared. We really do appreciate it and we will do our very best to answer the questions that can be answered now, but know that many of the questions will need to take some time as we work toward a budget proposal. Thank you. That's a really good point. Okay, Ron. Meeting dates for the upcoming month. Thanks Amber. The next meeting is Monday, November 21st and we'll start with the board meeting with the village Board of Trustees at 5:00 PM in room 170-172 at the high school. This is a public meeting, open to the public, that will be followed by a board retreat at 6:00 PM in the same room, room 170-172 at the high school.
056That is a closed meeting of just the board, followed by a special meeting executive session at 8:00 PM room 170-172 at the high school. On Monday, November 28th, the board will hold a special meeting executive session at 6:00 PM in room 170-172 at the high school. On Monday, December 5th, the board will hold a business meeting. It will first start with a meeting with the high school student group at 5:00 PM in the high school Learning Commons, that will be followed by a high school presentation titled 'The Evolving College Admission Landscape: Trends and Thoughts' at 6:30 PM at the auditorium in the high school, which will be followed by the board's business meeting at 7:30 PM in the high school room 170-172. And lastly, on Monday, December 19th, the board will hold a special meeting
057or executive session if needed, followed by an education report and business meeting at 6:30 PM Room 170-172 at the high school. Thank you, Ron. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Thank you Jessica. Second? Thanks Bob. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Meeting adjourned. Thank you everyone for your attendance today.