LWVS Consensus Statement on the 2023-24 $177mm Scarsdale School Budget
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(The following statement was read at the meeting of the Scarsdale School Board on March 27, 2023)
The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (the “League”) thanks the members of the Board of Education (the “Board”) and District Administration (the “Administration”) for participating in a panel at the League’s General Membership Meeting and School Budget Information Session and addressing questions on the Preliminary Proposed Scarsdale School District Budget 2023-24 (the “Budget”) and the proposed Scarsdale High School Auditorium Renovation Bond Project (the “Bond Project”) on March 22, 2023.
The following statement reflects the consensus of League members at a Consensus Meeting held immediately following the Information Session.
Positions
The League supports the Preliminary Proposed Scarsdale School District Budget for 2023-24 and recommends that, barring any significant revisions before its adoption by the Board of Education, the community vote “yes” to approve the final proposed Budget on May 16, 2023 at Scarsdale Middle School.
The League supports the proposed SHS Auditorium Renovation Bond Project and, barring any significant revisions before its adoption by the Board of Education, recommends that the community vote “yes” on May 16, 2023 at Scarsdale Middle School to approve the proposed Bond Project and to authorize the District to issue bonds up to the total amount of the Project.
The League offers its comments and recommendations regarding certain budgetary items as well as the budget process, which we hope will be considered as next year’s Budget is revised and finalized, and in future budgets. The League further offers comments regarding the Auditorium Bond Project.
Budget Overview and Noteworthy Features
The proposed Budget is $177,620,492, with a budget-to-budget increase of 2.59% and a tax levy growth of 1.93%. The estimated tax rate increase for Scarsdale homeowners will be 1.36%, and the estimated tax rate increase for Mamaroneck residents will be -11.26%.
-According to the Administration, the Budget accomplishes the following:
-Maintains high-quality teaching and learning
-Supports the continued study and development of DEI Initiatives
-Elevates District focus on the social emotional support of students
-Advances in-district instructional opportunities for students with disabilities
-Funds New Financial Accounting and Human Resources Software
-Improves and upgrades facilities with a focus on building infrastructure and funding for a shared Fields Study with Scarsdale Village
-Prepares the District for changes to our transportation system by funding a comprehensive transportation study
What is not included in the 2023-24 budget is also notable. The Board voted to exclude the Scarsdale High School Auditorium Renovation Project from the 2023-24 general fund budget in its entirety and present it as a separate voter proposition in May. Voters will have the opportunity to approve a $4,734,581 Bond Project that also authorizes the District to issue bonds for that total amount.
General Comments
The League acknowledges, with appreciation, the substantial time and effort that goes into
developing the proposed Budget and thanks the Administration and Board for their additional effort spent preparing for our March 22nd Information Session, including responding to our written questions and to the questions posed orally during the meeting.
The League also appreciates that the Administration continues to include League Budget questions and Administration responses on the District website as a public resource.
Comments and Recommendations
Budget Proposals and Proposed Reductions
The League appreciates the District’s disclosure of their organically and authentically developed first draft of the budget. The League further acknowledges the constraints placed upon the District by the state-imposed tax cap and appreciates the Administration’s efforts to prioritize expenditures that have the greatest impact on students’ growth and learning. The League acknowledges and appreciates the iterative process the District took to arrive at the current proposed budget, which included the presentation of multiple budget scenarios. The League encourages the District to ensure that proposed future budgets not only maintain Scarsdale’s long tradition of educational excellence, but also pursue forward-looking curricular initiatives and program enhancements that provide opportunities and environments to stimulate innovation, growth, and enhanced educational excellence for all students and faculty.
The League commends the Board and the Administration for their transparent and thorough discussion of the proposed budgets and, in particular, for the line-by-line analysis of proposed reductions. This transparency allows the community to better understand the Administration’s rationale and helps ensure a greater degree of confidence that the final budget represents the best balance between advancing the program and gaining taxpayer support. The League encourages future Boards to continue to evaluate and analyze proposed budgets in an open, thorough, and transparent manner.
Personnel and Staffing
The League commends the Administration for prioritizing the social emotional health of students and strongly supports the District’s plan to hire consultants to support elementary social emotional learning as a next step in the process of determining what longer term solution best serves the needs of that age group. As the Administration noted, its “capacity to support students in the ways we feel are necessary and beneficial has been outstripped by the needs students are exhibiting.” The League encourages the District to continue to prioritize the social-emotional and mental health needs of students.
The League strongly encourages the Administration to support continued education around mental health and learning disabilities, and more specifically, to encourage and incentivize faculty and staff to participate in professional development in these areas, including enrolling in relevant STI and ST@C courses. The League suggests that the Administration explore avenues to incentivize and attach greater weight to professional development classes addressing those areas to encourage greater participation.
Special Education
The League has consistently stressed the importance of supporting special education students in Scarsdale, which has only become even more important given, as the Administration explained, the “significant rise in the number of classified students and the intensity of student needs over the past 5-7 years.”
The League commends the District for advancing in-district opportunities for students with disabilities. Specifically, the League strongly supports the Administration’s effort to have special education students who are eligible for extended school year services stay in-district for the summer session instead of being placed in an out-of-district summer program. The League agrees with the Administration’s priority of expanding the continuum of services, in a financially sustainable manner, to educate as many students as reasonably feasible within our own programs.
The League appreciates the District’s recognition of the increasing demands on the chairpersons and administrators in the special education department. We recommend that the Administration continue to prioritize special education program review and expansion in future years to ensure that our special education students benefit from appropriate staffing and resources at all levels within the Scarsdale school system.
DEI
The League commends the District for its commitment to keep values of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the forefront of its programming, the curriculum, its outreach, its hiring efforts, and its planning process, and strongly encourages the District to ensure that DEI remains a consideration across all areas of Scarsdale schools. The League looks forward to the DEI survey being developed and encourages the District to be timely and transparent with the results of the survey.
Plant and Capital Improvements
The League acknowledges the completion of the Buildings Condition Survey, and urges the District to keep the results of the Survey and our aging facilities in mind as we budget for the future. We would like to reiterate from past statements that, given that several of our schools were built over a century ago, thoughtful, proactive facilities planning and capital improvement are of utmost importance to ensure that our buildings maintain and enhance student learning, and are safe, sustainable, and flexible enough to support 21st century innovation and future programs. The League also encourages the District to consider the current and future impact of climate change on the physical plant and on future infrastructure and capital projects.
The League appreciates the Administration’s recognition of a need to bring the Scarsdale High School building to a certain level of cleanliness and looks forward to the District’s re-assessment of such staffing needs in the future.
Facilities: Security and Sustainability
The League appreciates the District’s continued evaluation of safety protocols and priorities, including its decision to budget for the installation of door-ajar sensors in light of the Uvalde tragedy. We encourage the District to continue to implement security measures that incorporate best practices and also reflect and connect to the values of the entire Scarsdale community.
The League commends the District on its plan to proceed with a Behavioral Energy Savings Program and appreciates the District’s efforts to reduce its energy costs. The League encourages the District to consider other sustainability projects that would be beneficial to the environment, the individuals who use our buildings, and the physical plant.
Advocacy
The League commends the Board for its advocacy in conjunction with Scarsdale Village administration to address the persistent gaps in cellular coverage in the Village, including in and around our schools, which we view as an important safety and communication issue. The League strongly encourages the Board and Administration to continue to work closely with its Scarsdale Village counterparts to address dead zones in cellular coverage and also to be leaders in advocacy at both the state and local levels on issues that impact the Scarsdale schools.
Scarsdale High School Auditorium Project
As the League has previously noted, the auditorium renovation project was originally estimated to cost approximately $900,000 and was included in a bond proposal approved by voters in December 2014. Due to cost overruns on the 2014 bond projects, most of the proposed auditorium renovation was not undertaken. Since that time, the scope and projected cost of improvements to the auditorium have evolved into a $4.7 million project that addresses lighting improvements, an acoustical overhaul, seating and stage floor replacement, and renovations to the backstage and dressing room spaces.
The League commends the District for prioritizing this long-deferred but much discussed renovation through a thoughtful and open discussion, resulting in the decision to shift funding strategies from the annual budget to a bond. The auditorium is used by all SHS students, a significant number of high school parents, and various community organizations, and, when the project is completed, will benefit directly those students who are currently elementary and middle school aged. The League therefore understands and supports the Administration's recommendation and Board’s decision to bond the project, subject to a separate proposition in May at the same time as the school budget vote that asks voters to approve the $4.7 million project and to authorize the District to issue bonds for that total amount.
Budget Process/Community Engagement
The League appreciates that the Administration makes the Budget Presentations and Budget Development and Staffing Recommendations available early in the budget development process. The presentations allow a comprehensive view of the myriad components of the Budget and through them there is an enhanced understanding of the Budget itself.
The League commends the Board for recognizing the challenges faced by many organizations with a one-week turnaround between the last Budget Study Session and the Public Forum, and for adjusting the budget calendar for the 2024-25 budget season to allow for a two-week gap. This added week should provide slightly more time for the League and other community organizations to engage in a more detailed study and understanding of the preliminary proposed budget and greater opportunity for discussion in the formation of a consensus statement or other community feedback for the Board to incorporate into the final iteration.
The League thanks the Board for creating opportunities for public input into the budget at various points in the development process and encourages the Board and its Community Engagement Subcommittee to explore additional means and methods of expanding such engagement throughout the year. The League strongly encourages the Board to continue to work to be proactive and transparent to ensure community trust in the Board process.
We thank all members of the Administration and Board for consideration of our statement. The League looks forward to the release of the Board’s final Budget iteration resulting from having considered community comments.
Alissa Baum – President of the LWVS
Nan Eileen Mead – School Budget Portfolio Co-Chair LWVS
Crane Collapse on Route 9A
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Scarsdale resident and photographer Lisa VanGundy was nearby with her camera on Friday March 17 when she heard about the collapse of a large red crane on Saw Mill River Road around 12:30 pm.
She drove by and was able to get these close-up photos of the big red crane that had fallen at a construction site where a 200,000 square foot warehouse and offices are being built for Amazon at 211 Saw Mill River Road in Mt. Pleasant. Work has been going on for about a year and the new building was supposed to open this fall.
According to Town Supervisor, Carl Fulgenzi, two workers were injured and taken to Westchester Medical Center. The cause of the crane failure is being investigated.
Car Thieves Threaten Locals: Beware
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This week we received two disturbing reports about attempted car thefts gone awry:
On Thursday March 2 in Eastchester, a father was dropping off his daughter for pick up by the school bus at the corner of Stratford Road and Warwick Avenue at 7:54 am. As he was putting his child onto the school bus, an unknown man got into the parent’s running car, a 2018 BMW X3, and drove away with his three year-old child in the car. The suspect must have realized that he was doing more than stealing a car when he found the child in back. He abandoned the car with the child inside down the street.
At 5:59 am on Friday March 3, Cotwold residents (Edgemont) called 911 to report that a suspect had entered their unlocked car, used the garage door opener to open the garage and then entered the home. When he was confronted by the homeowner, he fled.
Police are warning residents to lock your cars and be vigilant.
Understanding Governor Hochul's Proposal to Increase Housing
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Are you following the discussion about Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to build additional housing – especially along the Metro North corridor? The ambitious plan could spur a dramatic increase in the number of multi-family complexes in areas that have traditionally been zoned for single family houses.
Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin offered this explanation in February on My Hometown Bronxville and gave us permission to reprint it here. Read it to understand more about this proposal:
From Mayor Mary Marvin
Feb. 15, 2023: I just recently returned from the annual New York State Conference of Mayors plenary session in Albany. There were a myriad of items on the docket but all were overshadowed by Governor Hochul’s, “Housing Compact.”
I feel duty-bound to share and quite expeditiously as the ramifications of this proposal to our Village are enormous and quite frankly incomprehensible.
An overwhelming majority of Mayors in Albany agreed that the State as a whole could use more housing and most importantly more affordable housing and are quite supportive of this laudable goal. The problem lies in its execution and the sledgehammer, punitive approach.
The Governors Housing Compact is a two-part program set to commence in January 2024. The first component would require villages such as Bronxville, Scarsdale, Hartsdale and frankly every village, city and town in the New York metropolitan area to increase their housing stock by 3% in the next three years and 3% every three years thereafter.
Should we not meet this goal, a new fast track approval mechanism that allows for mixed income, multifamily projects will be automatically triggered, notwithstanding any local zoning, planning and land-use regulations to the contrary.
This provision completely abrogates the “home rule” concept that is actually a provision of the New York State Constitution, giving it great weight and gravitas. The home rule principal grants municipalities the ability to pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit. According to Article 1 of the State Constitution, “Every local government shall have the power to adopt local laws as provided by this article.”
The 3% requirement for Bronxville translates into 75 new housing units by the end of 2027 or we lose all control over our local land use laws.
As example, an applicant may propose a “qualifying project” and thus will be exempt from the SEQRA or environmental review process and may not be denied for failure to comply with local zoning laws.
Should an applicant be denied, they can go directly to a state administrative board and/or judicial review of the denial with the burden of proof on the municipality by “clear and convincing evidence”; a much more rigorous standard than currently governs the review of municipal land use actions.
The second prong of the housing compact is called a TOD or Transit Oriented Development initiative, which requires local planning and zoning law changes within a three-year window to facilitate the production of multi-family housing in areas near a rail station. The program requires a forced amendment to Village law adding a new section, “Density of residential dwellings near transit stations.”
According to the Governor’s proposal, the area subject to the mandatory zoning and planning changes shall encompass all developed land within a half mile radius from a train station or in our case over 2/3 of the entire Village of Bronxville.
There are four tiers to the program, which are distinguished by the proximity of a transit station to New York City. We are in Tier 1 with other communities that are no more than 15 miles from the New York City border including Tuckahoe, Scarsdale and Hartsdale.
Tier 1 requires us to change our zoning laws to meet or exceed the density requirement of 50 units per acre. This means that the Village would be required to adjust current zoning regulations in the TOD zone in such a way that would allow for an increase of more than 10,000 new housing units in the Village that currently has 2,600 housing units and a population of 6,656 residents.
The mandated legislation would also be exempt from any state environmental review and the Village is prohibited to impose unreasonable provisions relating to lot coverage, open space, height, setbacks, floor area ratios, or parking requirements.
In the event of a failure to timely comply, the Village will nevertheless be required to permit the 50 units per acre density requirement as mandated by State law and must review any qualifying projects that could come our way pursuant to a process outlined in state law, with enforcement by the State Attorney General.
An aggrieved party is allowed to seek a court order to compel the Village to amend its law. Again, the burden of proof on the Village is the more rigorous standard of “clear and convincing evidence” than is currently applicable for all land use decision making.
On the positive side, the chairs of the Local Government Committees in both the State Senate, Monica Martinez of Nassau County and Fred Thiele of Suffolk in the Assembly are opposed to the legislation.
Closer to home our Assemblywoman, Amy Paulin is very outspoken in her opposition to this plan. As she stated, “Bronxville wouldn’t be able to accommodate so many housing units or even a fraction of the amount required. It would change the character and integrity of the community. You would no longer be a suburb of an urban area. You would be a congested urban center without the infrastructure to support it. I will fight to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
Senator Mayer shared her thoughts on the issue as well, “I have grave concerns with the approach taken by Governor Hochul in her proposed budget that seek to improve housing access in the NYC suburbs. Specifically, I believe the 3% requirement in the New Homes Target and Fast Track Approval proposal will not work in Bronxville. I also believe the Transit Oriented Development is equally flawed in the village. Both approaches apply a sledgehammer to an issue that requires a needle and thread, reflecting different communities, different needs and far greater nuance.”
At Monday night’s February Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees and I unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to the “Housing Compact” as its passage would change Bronxville forever.
Please join in reviewing this law and its ramifications and speak to anyone in state government that has a vote. It is absolutely critical that Bronxville’s voice is heard and heard expeditiously.
SCNPP Candidates to Run Unopposed in Village Election on Tuesday March 21
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It’s official! The candidates for Village office nominated by the Citizen’s Nominating Committee have filed their petitions and will run in an uncontested election on Tuesday March 21, 2023.
On the ballot are the following candidates running on the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party slate.
For Mayor, Justin Arest , 2 Lakin Road, Scarsdale. Arest served two terms as Village Trustee and is now running to lead the Village.
For Village Trustee, Sameer Ahuja, 30 Secor Road, Scarsdale is currently serving his first two-year term as Village Trustee and is running for a second term.
For Village Trustee, Karen L. Brew, 29 Ferncliff Road, Scarsdale is currently serving her first two-year term as Village Trustee and is running for a second term.
For Village Trustee, Dara Gruenberg , 24 Hampton Road , Scarsdale is running to serve her first term as Village Trustee.
For Village Justice, Cynthia Dunne, 14 Edgewood Road, Scarsdale, is currently serving in that role and running to continue her service.
The Village Election for Mayor, Village Trustees and Village Justice will take place on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. All election districts will be voting at the Scarsdale Public Library, 54 Olmsted Road. According to Village Clerk Taylor Emmanuel, “All COVID-19 protocols set forth by the CDC for polling locations will be followed.”
