Board Appoints New Assistant Principal at SHS, Grants Tenure to 18 and Adopts the 2016-17 School Budget

The mood was celebratory and the room was full on Monday night April 18 when Acting Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Bernard Josefsberg announced the granting of tenure, teaching assignments and promotions.

Opening with a quote from Jacques Barzun from 1945 he said, "Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition."

With that he congratulated Andrea O'Gorman on her promotion to Assistant Principal at Scarsdale High School. O'Gorman has served as the Director of Counseling at the school and will now move across the hall, presumably filling the position held by Sue Peppers who will retire in June. The name of the new director of the counseling department has not yet been announced.

Josefsberg also announced the following probationary appointments:

Anna Bonnano, Chemistry at Scarsdale High School
Michael Giordano, Science at Scarsdale High School
Elizabeth Rosenstadt, Art at Greenacres School
Javier Urena, Language at Scarsdale High School

The following group of 18 teachers and staffers were appointed tenure. Each came to the front of the room and received congratulations and a rose from Dr. Josefsberg.

Kristina Beck, Special Education
Emily Block, Social Studies
Christopher Casals, Elementary
Dian Dadabo, School Psychologist
Elizaveta Dukalskaya, Foreign Language
Matthew Fitzpatrick, Visual Arts
Rachel Han, Music
Brittan Lambrix, Foreign Language,
David Liebowitz, Elementary
Heath McCarren, Elementary
Vincent Modafferi, Special Education
Fallon Plunkett, Social Studies
Lisa Pomerantz, Elementary, Pre K-6
Caren Reinhardt, Remedial Speech
Allison Rickard, Elementary PreK-6
Katja Rossi, Library Media Specialist
Catherine Sorenson, Library Media Specialist
Elyse Tenzer, Home Economics

2016-17 School Budget

Also at the meeting the Board of Education adopted the final 2016-17 school budget that will go before voters on Tuesday May 16th.

Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey announced that the district will receive an additional $246,000 from the state, which he recommended the district us for district-wide paving projects. After a brief discussion, the Board approved Mattey's recommendation to repave the following:

High School
•Gravel lot - the village won't allow us to pave, so grade and resurface with 3/4" stone
•Brewster Road entrance walk and court
•Student lot by footbridge
•Southeast sidewalk removal/restoration
•Southeast sidewalk replacement

Middle School
•Main parking sidewalks including the removal of deteriorating concrete curbs, and
installation of granite curbs
•West sidewalks and sidewalk in front of gym including the removal of deteriorating concrete curbs and installation of granite curbs

Edgewood
•SW corner walkways

Greenacres
•Montrose parking
•Montrose walkway

Fox Meadow
•Hampton Road sidewalk

With this additional revenue, the district's total budget for Plant Improvement projects will be $1,251,931. The final 2016-17 budget to $150,454,297, a 1.63% increase over the current year, requiring a tax levy increase of .63%, which is below the calculated tax levy cap limit of .81%.