Scarsdale Forum Divided on School Finances

The Scarsdale Forum Education Finance Committee was divided on their views of teacher compensation in the Scarsdale Schools and issued both a majority and minority report. These reports, as well as several others including a report on the Scarsdale AP/AT program will be voted on at an upcoming meeting on Thursday night February 3.

As the District is faced with rising pension and healthcare costs and a proposed tax cap, the majority report makes recommendations on how to bring the growth rate of school expenditures into line with inflation and enrollment. In a lengthy analysis of Scarsdale teacher compensation, the majority report recommends the following:

• State legislators work to restructure the pension system, that employees increase their contributions to the system and the district and the BOE lobby for mandate relief
• Teachers pay an increase share of their healthcare costs
  
• The School Board reduce the rate of compensation growth from STEP increases and cost of living increases
• Limit collective bargaining agreements to three years to increase flexibility

In an analysis of the school budget, the committee concluded that the growth of school expenditures regularly outstrips the rate of economic growth and that salary and benefits are the principal drivers of school budget increases. The report states that in the 2010-11 budget, $102 million goes to salary and benefits for 606 employees, meaning that the average salary is $122,995 per year and average benefit costs are $45,350 per employee

The district’s pension contribution was up 44% for the 2010-2011 budget year, which was an increase of $2.4 million over the prior year. Since these costs are beyond district control, the report recommends that State legislators restructure the system and ask for increased contributions from plan participants.

For healthcare costs the report recommends that employees pay an increased share of their premium and co-pays as well as a new enrollment fee.

The report includes an in-depth analysis of teachers’ salaries and explains the system for STEP increases and offers a comparison of Scarsdale’s pay scale with that of Chappaqua. Though Chappaqua initially pay teachers with a BA about $4,000 more per year, Scarsdale’s salaries are 10-15% higher, or $13,000-$18,000 higher in later years and for those with experience and advanced degrees.

A 2009/10 BOCES Report also found that Scarsdale paid the highest salaries in Westchester County and in New York State, outpacing Edgemont, Bronxville, Chappaqua and Blind Brook. However, Scarsdale’s teachers are also better educated and, on average, have more years of teaching experience than their peers in other districts.

Last, the report analyzes the District’s collective bargaining agreement with the teachers. The current agreement is a five-year contract and since economic conditions have changed dramatically during that period, the report recommends that future agreements be limited to three year terms. It is suggested that the Board seek out new legal advisors to assist in negotiations.

However, the entire committee was not in agreement, and four members, Eric Staffin, Nan Berke, Mary Beth Evans and Arthur Rublin issued a minority report with a different viewpoint.

They reject the idea of setting a target of limiting the School District’s budget growth to the inflation rate plus enrollment growth and fear that it runs the risk of dire short and long-term consequences for Scarsdale public education.

In regards to salaries, they recognized that the “District competes for faculty and administrators in a marketplace of high performing metropolitan school districts and specifically with high performing districts in Westchester and Nassau Counties” and “has traditionally wished to be in a position to attract the strongest candidates in this market.”

To that end they “endorse the School District’s longstanding strategy of attracting and retaining the strongest teachers available in the region and “recommend that in the next round of collective bargaining over the Scarsdale Teachers Association contract, due to expire in 2013, the Board should bring Scarsdale teacher salaries as closely in line as possible with those of competing districts without undermining Scarsdale’s short or long-term ability to attract and retain the highest quality faculty.

They conclude the section on salaries by saying, “In sum, we do recognize that it is beyond the scope of our ability, and beyond our appropriate role, to attempt to micromanage the collective bargaining process.”

In regards to pension contributions, the minority report supports “the School Board’s recent resolution calling on New York State legislators to couple any property tax cap legislation with specific legislative action to contain State-mandated pension fund contributions.”

The Forum has planned a meeting on Thursday night February 3 where they will vote on the reports. Guests at the meeting will be Board of Education President Jill Spieler who will give an update on the state of the schools, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lynne Shain who will speak on The Building Blocks of a Scarsdale Education, Michael McGill, Superintendent of Schools and Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent of Business, who will provide a preview of the school budget. It is interesting to note that School Board President Jill Spieler was formerly President of the Scarsdale Forum, and the two groups now disagree about what's best for the Scarsdale Schools.

The meeting starts at 8pm in the Scott Room of Scarsdale Public Library, with a reception at 7:30 to honor the PT Council, and the nominees for Trustee and Mayor of Scarsdale. Margaret Smith of Odyssey Chocolates will provide sanples of her hand crafted chocolates to attendees.