Good News for Greenacres

It was Greenacres night at the Board of Education meeting on Monday June 9 when the board welcomed a new principal for Greenacres Elementary School, funded a feasibility study for architects to explore renovations or even replacing the school and indicated that funding would be available now for new playground equipment. The audience was filled with Greenacres parents who are eager for the board to address over-crowding at the school.

However, before the conversation turned to Greenacres, the board reviewed the status of the proposal for a District Master Facilities Plan to be financed by an $18 million bond offering that includes:

- District-wide technology infrastructure upgrade
- Partial roof replacement at Quaker Ridge School
- Library expansion and office relocation at Edgewood School
- New orchestra/multi-purpose room at Scarsdale Middle School
- New learning commons, maker space and fitness center relocation at Scarsdale High School

The above projects are proposed to address overcrowded lunchrooms and libraries, facilities improvements as well as the future educational needs of Scarsdale students. Details are available on line at the Board of Education website.

According to Board President Suzanne Seiden and Board Member Lee Maude, the board is currently in listening mode and actively seeking community input before making a final recommendation. They have already held community meetings and received valuable input and are currently addressing a list of questions submitted by the League of Women Voters. They offered to meet with community members and neighborhood associations to discuss the process, answer questions and receive recommendations and made it clear that community input is welcome.

The Board will make a preliminary approval recommendation at the June 23 meeting and continue to listen to comments and seek input over the summer before submitting a final recommendation in the fall.

Board Member Lee Maude stressed that they are "in listening mode, not selling mode" and addressed the criticisms of the plan expressed by Vivienne Braun and Rosanne Underweiser in a statement in the June 6 issue of the Scarsdale Inquirer where they call the plan an "exercise in grandiosity." They said the plan lacks "data, documentation, projections and educational rationales," and said, "the availability of financing is a weak rationale for spending millions." Asking for "a detailed assessment of needs, followed by careful analysis of solutions," they charged the board with, "imprudently putting the cart before the horse."

Maude gave a detailed recap of the planning process saying, "If you understand the process we have used you will have confidence in the plan." She said that a total of 1,800 man-hours had been spent analyzing the issue and that it was her belief that they have been "fairly thorough," calling their committees, Linda Purvis and lead architect Russ Davidson of KG&D "their experts." She then presented demographic data to support the plan, including enrollment numbers and square footage per student in each of the buildings where renovations are proposed. She said the plan addresses "deteriorating infrastructure and overcrowding," and cited Edgewood library which is too small to support the student population and the high school cafeteria where facilities are not adequate to serve the student population.

Amy Cooper, who served on the Facilities Steering Committee and the High School Building Level Committee, also defended the plan, saying, "I would not characterize any of the high school projects as frivolous, grand, or unnecessary." She told the group she was initially skeptical of the plans saying, "To put it in terms of Jerry McGuire, you did not "have me at hello." However, she is now convinced that these plans are a result of a team effort of concerned parties and will best serve the needs of the Scarsdale community. She asked community members to attend meetings, pose questions and get the facts about the proposed plans and encouraged the Board to continue to have an open process. Her statement is reprinted in its entirety with her permission below.

The discussion then turned to several items of interest for the Greenacres neighborhood. The first piece of news for Greenacres was the probationary appointment of Sharon Hill as Principal of Greenacres Elementary School effective August 1, 2014 through July 31, 2017.

Assistant Superintendent Joan Weber said that Ms. Hill was selected in an extensive search process. Hill has been Principal of PS 290, a highly regarded elementary school in Manhattan, for nine years. She is a literacy specialist who has worked with Teachers' College on their reading and writing programs. Ms. Hill's appointment was greeted with a round of applause. Board President Seiden added that it became clear through the entire search and review process and particularly the site visit to PS 290 that Ms. Hill had great relationships with parents, teachers and students. Seiden mentioned that she was impressed Ms. Hill knew all the first names of the over 600 students at PS 290. The introduction of Ms. Hill at this meeting is available on video at the Board of Education VOD site.

Another piece of news for Greenacres was the surprise announcement that funding has been allocated to purchase new playground equipment for the elementary school. The motion to approve the funding will be on the June 23 meeting agenda. The Greenacres residents in attendance expressed thanks that this immediate need was being addressed.

As promised, the Board approved funding for a feasibility study of the Greenacres facility by KG&D Architects. The study will address whether the building can be renovated or should be rebuilt to meet the future needs of the Greenacres community.

There are numerous challenges facing the current facility:

-The school is currently over-crwoded.
-It is the oldest elementary school building, the square footage exceeds the maximum allowable amount for the size of the property
-The water table is high resulting in on going water problems in the basement
-The heating system is old and not easily repairable.
-Huntington Road's location (essentially in the middle of the school grounds) has been the source of safety discussions.

The study will take six months to complete and will begin over the summer.

During this portion of the meeting the issue of redistricting was also discussed. Two members of the Greenacres community, Jon Singer and Meredith Gantcher, as well as Fox Meadow resident Robert Berg and Board of Education member Sunil Subbakrishna asked whether a redistricting study should be completed in the same timeframe as the architectural study of the facility and also inquired about the process of conducting such a study. They contended that the cost and feasibility of redistricting should be measured against the results of the architectural study.

Board of Education member Lewis Leone Jr. commented that he felt comfortable moving ahead with the feasibility study at this time considering redistricting is "not the most palatable thing to occur" but also stated that it may need to be considered later if the scale of what was needed at Greenacres was too large and cost prohibitive. Board President Seiden concluded that since it's clear that the community is interested in knowing more it warrants further discussion. The board approved the architects' study and will discuss a redistricting study at a later meeting.

Commenting on the meeting, Amy Nadasdi Chairperson of the Greenacres Building Committee said, "I was very pleased with the response from the Board regarding our playground equipment, as well as the progress we are making on the feasibility study. I applaud both the Board and the district for responding to our requests and working with us to resolve some of our immediate needs in light of the unknown long-range plans for our school."

Also, discussed at the meeting were minor changes to the Code of Conduct and District Safety Plan, appointments of external auditors, a gift to the Alternative school from its senior class, and memoranda of agreements for the contracts of teachers' aides, custodians, secretaries, bus drivers and Principals.

Amy Cooper's Statement

I am Amy Cooper. I would like to comment briefly on the high school master facilities plan. By way of background, I have been serving on the high school building level committee, as well as the facilities steering committee. I attended all the committee meetings for these two committees -- way too many to count. I have also participated in the two site visits to neighboring schools to view their fitness centers. And I have attended the many presentations by the architects.

I must confess that I went into this process this fall a bit skeptical. To put it in terms of Jerry McGuire, you did not "have me at hello." For example, I didn't get what a maker space was. And I didn't understand why a new fitness center at the high school was necessary. However, I kept an open mind and was willing to become educated. Our high school facilities team met often with the architects. We had many detailed discussions about the high school needs, how best to solve current facilities problems, and how to be forward thinking for the future. For example, as a team, we decided that it would be best to create a 21st century approach to dealing with the overcrowded cafeteria -- to create a learning commons, where kids can eat and work at the same time. Another example of our committee work: Our teachers on our committee requested multiple meetings with the architects in an effort to have the plans for the D-Lab, aka maker space, revised to reflect the ability to satisfy a multitude of curriculum uses. Nothing was conceived over night. Nor decided by one person. A real team effort of teachers, students, parents, administrators, and the architects worked for many hours together to arrive at the high school proposals.

With respect to the new fitness center, our high school group spent a lot of our time on this. We discussed options a, b, c, d, and e, as alternatives to the space located under the gym. It is clear to me, after spending many hours understanding the facts, that the space under the gym is the best place to move the fitness center. Although the fitness center has to be relocated to make room for the I-lab, I should say that it deserves considerable merit as a project nonetheless. After I visited the John Jay HS fitness center, and spoke with their PE director, it is even more clear to me that our school would greatly benefit from a larger, more gender friendly center. Currently, we do not have much, if any, cardio equipment. The John Jay center has allowed for a real cultural change at their school. I think a new fitness center here will be a game changer as well. After school kids-- athletes and non-athletes, girls and boys, will all have a place to gather together and work out. And, as far as any question that we have not been provided with curriculum usage for a new fitness center, that is just plainly not true. The district web site contains a six-page document supporting a new fitness center and specifying 7 different specific curriculum uses for it. Our high school committee asked the hard questions. We pressed for more information, and we received it.

The district web site lays out an array of documents for anyone to review. I hope people take the opportunity to learn the facts and not just rely on rumors and inaccuracies. I would not characterize any of the high school projects as frivolous, grand, or unnecessary. They were not ill-conceived over night. Rather, after a detailed and long process, they were set forth, and revised, and then revised again. To call the process anything but thorough would be completely contrary to the facts. The proposed plans for the high school are not only necessary, they are important. They reflect the future of learning for our kids. I really hope the public takes the time to get educated on the facts. Look at the district web site. Attend the meetings that are being offered. Ask questions. My advice to the Board would be to continue to have an open process, and keep providing the community with facts and updates.

You can watch the meeting online here: