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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 30 March 2022

Created: 30 March 2022

Last Updated: 30 March 2022

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What do Scarsdale residents think about the proposed 2022-23 school budget? As school taxes represent the lion’s share of local tax payments, the school budget is closely scrutinized and studied by parents, community groups and individuals as well.

This year’s proposed Scarsdale Schools budget is $173,291,393, a 3.85% over the prior year’s budget which will require a 3.45% increase in the tax levy. This translates to a 2.43% tax increase for Scarsdale residents and a bump of 3.68% in the Mamaroneck strip.

The school board heard comments on the budget at a forum on Monday night March 28, 2022, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. There was widespread support for the staffing additions, especially those to support the mental health needs of students which appear to have increased during the pandemic.

The budget includes funding to boost Wi-Fi service within and outside the schools and many noted the need for an improvement. Parents feel the lack of internet access around the schools poses a safety concern and encouraged the district to do more to expand coverage in the parking lots and fields surrounding the schools.

The Scarsdale High School PTA noted the flooding that occurs in the high school parking lots during rainstorms and asked the district to include funding next year to study and remediate the overflows which sometimes deluge and destroy cars.

The district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives were generally lauded, with the PTC requesting additional professional development and parental involvement in DEI work.

These was general agreement that funding for the long deferred renovation of the high school auditorium should be included in next year’s budget.

The LWVS noted the decrease in plant/facilities spending, saying, “The total Plant/Capital Improvements budget for 2022-23 is $1,115,000. This sum is equal to the prior year combined Capital and Maintenance Plant Improvement budgets, $374,000 less than the prior year and $1,429,000 less than the 2019-20 year.” They called for a long term facilities plan to address building needs.

Others noted the tight time frame between the release of the proposed budget and the budget forum and asked the Board to adjust this in the future to give more time for analysis and feedback.

There was only one voice asking for the Board to reconsider their plans. Longtime resident and former board member of Scarsdale Family Counseling Service Harriet Sobol came to the mic to ask the Board to use social workers from Scarsdale Family Counseling Service rather than hire two in house social workers, one for the middle school and the other for the high school.

She said, “I understand the mental health needs have gone beyond the current staff but I don’t think that their salaries should be in the school budget. For 40 years students’ mental health needs have been met by SFCS…. The Youth Services Project is richer and has more depth than when it began. Jay Genova knows the students well. He has put his own stamp on the youth services program. … It’s a matter of cost. A district social worker would make between $110 and $120,000 with only $63,000 for a youth outreach worker, and half of that funded by the schools. For 40 years SFCS has had an excellent relationship with the schools and kids benefit from that partnership.”

Responding to Sobol, Assistant Superintendent Eric Rauschenbach complimented all the work of SFCS, including their preventative measures, but defended the need for district social workers to focus on families in crisis and to help them to make connections to state agencies and resources. He said that social workers with expertise in family dynamics and systems were essential.

Here are the complete statements from the community groups who commented:

Joey Silberfein for the SHS PTAJoey Silberfein

The Scarsdale High School PTA Executive Committee and Budget Study Chair appreciate the efforts of the District Administration and Board of Education in preparing a budget that is fiscally responsible, while facing the complexity of stewarding our schools throughout the past 2 years faced with a pandemic. We thank the members of the Board of Education for their dedication and for giving us this opportunity to comment on the proposed 2022-2023 School District Budget.

We understand that the Board of Education needs to identify those items and expenses that should be prioritized over others while keeping the tax cap and other fiscal limitations in mind. We, as a SHS PTA EC, would like to advocate that the following items that impact the daily lives and education of our High School students remain a priority for the District.

Mental Health Resources: As we mentioned during last year’s budget study process and again at the BOE meetings in February and March, the pandemic has left its mark upon the well-being of our high school students and faculty. Health experts have identified an alarming, increased incidence of mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Parents in the community were concerned about Mental Health Resources prior to the pandemic, and those concerns are only heightened now. We encourage the BOE to maintain appropriate resources for the high school to address the increased demand on our Mental Health professionals. We see it a priority to create a budget that allocates adequate human and financial resources to both address the immediate needs of students struggling with mental health and enable the delivery of school-wide programs and services aimed at fostering growth and resilience for the future. We believe this is best achieved with the current draft budget that identifies 2 new district employee Mental Health hires as well as maintaining the Youth Outreach Worker program, which we see as two separate and distinct roles.

Auditorium: We would also like to take this opportunity to once again urge the District and the Board to keep the continuation of the high school auditorium renovation at the forefront of future budget planning until it is fully completed as envisioned. The Auditorium has taken a back seat for far too long. While we are delighted to see so much of the renovation completed, there is still much that needs to be done.

Safety Concerns: We believe that the lack of/weak Wifi in and around the building is a huge safety and security concern. While we appreciate the funding in the budget to bring better Wifi into the building and to complete a heat map, we feel strongly that Wifi needs to be extended to the SHS fields and parking lots for the safety of our students. We encourage to BOE to maintain this as a priority in future budgets.

During heavy rainstorms which often occur without advance warning, the overflow from the Brewster Road creek bed floods and has caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the cars parked by the creek lots. This has been going on for many years. Students and staff are forced to quickly leave school when notified of a flooding creek. This causes stress and unproductive class time. It's not just the time needed to move the cars but time spent looking for alternative parking as well. It is also a safety concern with so many harried drivers trying to back out of a flooding lot. Though not for this year’s budget, we would like the administration to do a study on how to remediate the flooding and consider adding this to a future budget.

Once again, we appreciate the time and attention taken to create this year’s budget and appreciate the opportunity to participate in the process. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about our priorities.

Thank you

Joey Silberfein, President
Vanessa Stoffels, President-elect
Chris Marks, Budget Study Chair & VP Membership and Events
Julie Zhu, VP Programming and Volunteers
Chyi Landless, Treasurer
Elizabeth Hoexter, Recording Secretary
Elissa Ruback, Corresponding Secretary

Leah Dembitzer for the Scarsdale Middle School PTA Executive Committee, Budget Study and Legislative Advisory Committees:

The Scarsdale Middle School PTA Executive Committee, Budget Study Chairs and Legislative Advocacy Chair support the preliminary proposed Scarsdale Leah DembitzerSchools’ Budget 2022-23 (the “Budget”). Highlights of the Budget as related to SMS include: additional mental health staffing and a Computer Science teacher; needs identified by Principal Troy at the January 10 Board of Education meeting. This Budget provides a Psychologist and Special Education teacher in order to create an Emotional Support Program and allocates funds for an in-house Social Worker. Furthermore, the addition of a Computer Science teacher will fulfill the need to have a five-day per week computer science quarterly class.

Rationale for the mental health staffing requests was discussed by the District throughout the Budget process, in response to PTC questions and was reiterated again at the League of Women Voters Scarsdale Information Session on the Budget. As per the District:

The trend of increasing mental health needs predates the pandemic. The pandemic has been a catalyst for these requests. As we move forward, the increased focus both on specific interventions with students and the ongoing positive psychology and wellness work across the District should address many of these needs. We do feel these additional resources will be sufficient for the foreseeable future.

As Principal Troy explained at the January 10 staffing recommendation presentation, “we have seen a rise in the number of students managing depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, which limits a student’s ability to access an equal education.” The proposed creation of a Middle School Emotional Support Program will aim to give students who are struggling to access the general education curriculum due to emotional difficulties, the support necessary to succeed.

An in-house Social Worker was requested by the Middle School as a result of the significant rise in students currently struggling with mental health issues. Through this in-house staff member, the Middle School would be able to foster a more consistent touch point, a greater familiarity and continuity for both students and families. This year our students require more mental health staff time and support than is currently available to them. The SMS PTA EC, Budget Study Chairs and Legislative Advocacy Chair strongly support the addition of this staff member in order to meet the student needs that are currently not being met.

Thank you to the Board and Administration for the immense time, work and community engagement that is part of your annual Budget process.

Sincerely,

The SMS PTA Executive Committee:

Leah Dembitzer, President
Deborah Lichtenstein, President-Elect
Ophira Cukierman, Treasurer
Samantha Carter, Secretary
Stephanie Klingsberg, VP Programming
Lori Harrison, VP School Events and Initiatives
Yi Yang, VP Membership and Directory

SMS PTA Budget Study Chairs:
Irena Turner and Julia Liu
SMS PTA Legislative Advocacy Chair:
Christine Weston

Laura Liu and Mayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez for the Scarsdale PT CouncilMayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez

Scarsdale Council Of Parent-Teacher Associations 2022-2023 Budget Study Statement

The PT Council Executive Committee and the Budget Study Chairs are pleased to support this year’s Scarsdale School Budget, particularly because it addresses the need for in-house mental health resources.

We thank the District Administration and the Board of Education for scheduling this budget forum for the community to comment on the proposed budget. We commend the Administration for responding to the over 60 questions we submitted in November, January, and February, which we have included in the PTC Budget Study Page. We are appreciative that the Administration responded to community feedback and improved the budget process transparency by making more information available to the public in a timely fashion.

At the Budget Priorities Forum in November, the PTC shared priorities that PTC officers, PTA budget liaisons and PTA presidents had identified at our seven schools: Mental health resources, Improved Wi-Fi Access, Continued Support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives, District-wide Transportation Study, and Flexible Multi-use Outdoor Spaces.

The PTC EC fully supports the addition of in-house mental health and special education positions in the proposed budget. Even before the pandemic, Scarsdale School District1, as well as Westchester County and national data show, there have been significant increases in mandated counseling and hospitalizations of students due to a wide array of heightened expectations and pressure, mental and emotional needs, and various risk factors, especially in the middle and high school demographic. The resources that the District requests are absolutely necessary to meet immediate student needs that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as to deliver programs and services aimed at long-term wellness and resilience.

Laura LiuWe thank the District for allocating funds for a Wi-Fi coverage heat map study and for additional Wi-Fi equipment to improve coverage inside the school buildings. In addition, there are high usage areas on the High School campus including Butler Field and the pickup circle, as well as in the area of Fox Meadow Elementary, where Wi-Fi coverage is just as urgently needed to ensure students are reachable and safe, especially during the dark winter months. We recommend that the District consider expanding the Wi-Fi coverage to these campus areas in this budget.

We support the continuation of the District’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) focus in the curriculum and the budgeted funds for professional training and classroom materials. We urge the District to maintain this active focus on DEI initiatives. And we would like to request including parent programming in the budget, because parent education and engagement are critical to the success of DEI work.

While the transportation study and the Multi-use Outdoor spaces were not prioritized in this budget, we would like to reiterate their importance to our students. We encourage the District to include these two items in future budgets as early as possible, and to also consider several other projects that are valuable to our school community, including the High School auditorium, as well as sustainability initiatives.

We thank you for staying within the New York State tax levy cap of 3.5%.3 We appreciate the attention to minimizing spikes that would impact the taxpayers. Inflation is at a 40-year high and is rising, especially in the metal and energy sectors.4 Additionally, the economic impact of geopolitical uncertainties5 is important for current and longer-term Scarsdale school budgets.6

PTC Identified Priorities

We would like to provide more detail about three of the five priorities that the PTC identified at our seven schools, and we thank the seven PTA presidents and budget liaisons for their collaboration in the last six months.

Mental Health and Special Education Resources

The PTC EC and Budget Chairs fully support the addition of four Full Time Employee (FTE) in-house professional positions in student social emotional support, and the addition of two FTE special education teaching positions. These in-house resources will meet the pressing need for student mental health services and fill the painful gap that affects many students and families. They will also work closely with faculty to deliver programs and services to teach healthy habits and improve long-term wellness.

Data from the District shows that the Scarsdale High School community needs more social emotional support. Even without the COVID crisis, the individual mental health needs of students, families, and staff have dramatically increased. Since 2018- 2019, the District has seen the following increases:

● 38% increase in mandated counseling (113 to 156 cases)
● 42% increase in triennial evaluations (48 to 68)
● 133% increase in hospitalizations; (6 to 14) This increase only represents the number of hospitalizations through November. There are also other students temporarily in outplacement due to eating disorders and anxiety disorders, as well.

Good mental health is critical to children’s success in school and later in life. According to data cited by the Mental Health Association in NYS, “half of all chronic mental health conditions begin by age 14. Further, half of all lifetime cases of anxiety disorders begin as early as age 8. 1 in 4 youth aged 13-18 experience serious mental disorders in a given year.”

The pandemic has taken a significant toll on the well-being of our students and faculty. However, even prior to the pandemic, concerns have been raised in this District about the increase in mental health needs in our schools. Recent research shows a rise in mental health issues in children in Westchester County, especially in girls and minorities, predating the pandemic. The Westchester- East Putnam Region PTA has made mental health resources a priority in its advocacy work.

Increased demand for mental health resources is also a nation-wide phenomenon that has been widely reported. Just last month, the Senate Finance Committee held a two-part series of hearings on youth mental health. The growing crisis around students’ mental health, and the scarcity of available care, has long been a concern of many educators and health professionals. Some nearby districts have also increased spending for mental health and special education.

The PTC fully supports in-house mental health resources dedicated to our students. The in-house model is advantageous, because these better credentialed career professionals can work cohesively with teachers and school psychologists to deliver long-term programs and interventions, not just react to issues and cases. In the appendices, we refer you to mental health resource advocacy statements made at the February 14 Board of Education meeting by our SHS and SMS PTA presidents. At that meeting, they stated that “The SHS EC believes that adding both District employee Mental Health professionals as requested by the High School Principal, High School Administration and District Administration would best suit our students and current faculty needs and strongly supports these positions remaining in the budget.” Additionally, regarding the Middle School, Principal Troy previously explained at a January 10 BOE meeting, “we have seen a rise in the number of students managing depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, which limits a student’s ability to access an equal education.” The support and structure that the High School Emotional Support Program has given students for six years is a model for the Middle School. Bringing this program down to the Middle School will give students who are struggling to access the general education curriculum due to emotional difficulties the support necessary to succeed.

Improvement of Wi-Fi Reception

Improving Wi-Fi reception is a significant safety and security issue that needs to be addressed promptly. We note that the district earmarked $125,000 in the 2022-23 budget for this purpose. We thank the District for budgeting a heat map study of areas with poor reception and for purchasing necessary additional Wi-Fi equipment to improve coverage inside the school buildings. However, there are high usage areas on the High School campus including Butler Field and the pickup circle, as well as at Fox Meadow Elementary School, where Wi-Fi coverage is just as urgently needed to ensure students are reachable and safe, especially during the dark winter months. We strongly urge the District to consider expanding the Wi-Fi coverage to these campus areas in this budget. With the upcoming leadership changes in the Technology Department, we hope the District will ensure continuity in the Wi-Fi improvement project.
We also encourage the District to collaborate with the Village on issues surrounding improved cellular reception in and around the schools and to reinstate the discussions that had been put on hold this past year. We are aware that the Village needs to remedy issues with cellular coverage, and that the District can continue to enhance Internet access in our buildings and the immediate surroundings through Wi-Fi.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives

We fully support the District’s sustained commitment to DEI work as a strategic priority, as reflected in the proposed budget to continue with a District consultant, and to include or reallocate funds for professional training and curriculum materials. We are pleased that a portion of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant will help support DEI initiatives. In the past year, the District has engaged in the meaningful implementation of the new Board Policy #0105 titled “Equity, Inclusivity, and Diversity in Education,” as guided by the New York State Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. Curriculum units that invite multiple perspectives and affirm multiple identities are being integrated into existing curricula. The DEI lens is applied to professional development and hiring. We commend the District for the important work it has done so far, and we encourage the District to continue to develop DEI expertise through training and hiring. Parent education and engagement are also critical to the success of DEI programs. We ask the District to add parent programming as an integral part of overall DEI initiatives. DEI work will better prepare all students for the diverse, interconnected society they will inhabit. As you evaluate existing DEI initiatives in the District, we ask you to consider in a future budget whether a full-time DEI professional would be required.

Additional Projects For Next Year and Beyond

The PTC EC and Budget Study Chairs recognize that some projects are not prioritized in this budget due to financial constraints. However, we would like to reiterate that these remain valuable projects to improve instruction, student services and other District strategic goals. We respectfully request that these items stay on the District’s radar and be funded in the earliest possible budget and/or a bond.

● A transportation study to optimize routes, increase safety, and improve service,
● Flexible multi-use outdoor spaces to increase outdoor lunch and class time,
● High School auditorium phase 3
● Sustainability practices and curriculum,
● Athletic and extracurricular activities,
● Building improvement projects including air cooling solutions in general and building-specific traffic barriers at Quaker Ridge.

Budget Process and Macroeconomic Environment

Additionally, we would like to provide feedback on the budget process and macroeconomic factors impacting budget planning.

The Budget Process

As we have expressed previously, we thank the Board and the Administration for making agendas and materials available on the Fridays prior to the Board meetings and budget study sessions on Mondays. This process improvement allows sufficient time for community groups and residents to digest and reflect on the information and craft a thoughtful response for Monday evening’s public comment period and Board discussion. It fosters a more informed and measured public response from all those wishing to be heard.

Currently, the “2022-23 Budget Documents” page on the District’s Board of Education site lists links to budget presentation decks and responses to questions from community groups. We suggest that the Board add links to budget presentation video recordings next to the presentation decks. The video recordings are valuable resources for the public to understand the thought process going into the proposed budget. Archiving the presentation decks and recordings together will facilitate information access and public engagement.

We encourage you to continue meeting with the Village Board to work collaboratively on issues of common interest such as cellular coverage and traffic.

Macroeconomic Factors and Risk Mitigation

Although the PTC is focusing on the significant mental health priorities addressed by staffing in the 2022-23 budget, we acknowledge the aging infrastructure of our buildings and that many capital project needs should continue to be included in future budgets and should not continually be deferred.

However, we acknowledge the Administration’s and Board’s prudent approach to budgeting for the many unknowns of the coming school year. By increasing the school budget by 3.85% to $173.3 million, you are staying within the New York State tax levy cap of 3.5%. We appreciate the attention to minimizing spikes and dips that would impact the taxpayers. We are cautiously resuming a near normalcy in school operations and resource requirements for Covid mitigation have decreased from the past two years. At the same time, inflation is at a 40-year high and is rising, especially in the areas of metal and energy price rises, and the economic impact of geopolitical uncertainties need to be monitored and considered in budget planning for current and longer-term budgeting. As the District stated in its February responses to PTC questions, “the District is already experiencing the impact of increased energy costs. Unlike past years we are unlikely to see a surplus in these categories in the current year. Depending on weather and prices, we might actually have a deficit. The 2022-23 budget for utilities has been increased by $300,000 to take into account these escalations.”

We support the continued use of fund balance only for non-recurring surprises and the calculated decision to discontinue past practice of relying on surplus to fund anticipated or annual costs. We encourage the District to restore the unassigned fund balance back to recommended levels of close to the 4% limit as soon as practicable. The District presently has a Moody’s AAA rating, which is important to preserve in order to keep borrowing costs as low as possible the next time the District has to issue a bond for upcoming capital projects.
Thank you in advance for taking our comments into consideration as you finalize the budget. We appreciate your openness to feedback, your increased focus on community engagement, and your thoughtful efforts in budgeting for an uncertain economic environment.

Sincerely,
Mayra Kirkendall-Rodríguez and Laura Liu, 2021-22 PT Council Budget Study Co-Chairs
Megan Simon, 2021-22 PT Council President
Lauren Grossberg, 2021-22 PT Council President-Elect
Meredith Kent, 2021-22 PT Council Secretary
Stephanie Stern, 2021-22 PT Council Treasurer
Joey Silberfein, 2021-22 Scarsdale High School PTA President
Leah Dembitzer, 2021-22 Scarsdale Middle School PTA President
Yoko Hayashi and Sammantha Furniss, 2021-22 Edgewood PTA Co-Presidents
Anna Blake, 2021-22 Fox Meadow PTA President, 2021-22
Courtney Allen, Greenacres PTA President ,
Beth Keyser, 2021-22 Heathcote PTA President
Emily Hira, 2021-22 Quaker Ridge PTA President

Alissa Baum for the League of Women Voters of ScarsdaleAlissa Baum

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 School Budget 2022-23 (the “Budget”) on March 24, 2021 via Zoom.

The following statement reflects the consensus of League members at a Consensus Meeting held immediately following the Information Session.
Position

The League supports the Preliminary Proposed Scarsdale School District Budget for 2022-23 and recommends that, barring any significant revisions before its adoption by the Board of Education, the community vote “yes” to approve the proposed Budget on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at Scarsdale Middle School. 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.

Budget Overview and Noteworthy Features

The proposed budget is $173,291,393, with a budget-to-budget increase of 3.85%
and a tax levy growth of 3.45%. The tax rate increase for Scarsdale homeowners will be 2.43%, and the tax rate increase for Mamaroneck residents will be 3.68%.

According to the Administration, the Budget accomplishes the following:
● Maintains high-quality teaching and learning consistent with the Strategic Plan
● 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
● Improves wireless connectivity and communication systems
● Improves and upgrades facilities with a focus on building infra-structure
The proposed Budget reflects an 8.0 FTE net increase in the professional staff District-wide from actual-to-budget 2021-22. This includes:
● 1.0 FTE Psychologist at the high school
● 1.0 FTE Social Worker at the high school
● 1.0 FTE Psychologist (SSP) at the middle school
● 1.0 FTE Social Worker at the middle school
● 1.0 FTE Special Education Teacher (SSP) at the middle school
● 1.0 FTE Computer Science Teacher at the middle school
● 1.0 FTE Life Skills - Special Education Teacher at the middle/elementary school level
● 1.0 FTE District Elementary Math Curriculum Coordinator

The proposed Budget also reflects an increase in the Civil Service staff of 1.0 FTE clerical support for our school psychologists and a reorganization of 14 hourly part time clerks to 6 full time 10-month positions, resulting in a budget-to-budget increase of 6.3 FTE.
Commendations

The League acknowledges, with appreciation, the substantial time and effort that goes into developing the proposed Budget and particularly appreciates the challenge of formulating a budget, inclusive of contingency allocation, in these continued uncertain times. The League thanks the Administration and Board for their additional effort spent preparing for our March 24th Information Session and responding to our written questions.3 The League commends the panel for participating in this year’s League Information Session.

Additionally, the League commends the Administration for making the Budget Book available early in the budget development process. The Budget Book allows a comprehensive view of the myriad components of the Budget and through this tool there is an enhanced understanding of the Budget itself.

The League is also appreciative that the Administration continues to include League Budget questions and Administration responses on the District website as a public resource.

Finally, the League commends the Board for adopting Policy 1230, which allows for public participation either in person or via remote means during the two public comment periods at Board

Comments and Recommendations

Staffing and Support of Social-Emotional and Mental Health of Students
The League strongly supports the proposed increases in mental health staffing as proposed in the 2022-23 Budget. The League believes that the proposed support staffing at the middle and high school levels can provide critical services for students in crisis (such as school avoidance and suicidal ideation). The data presented at the Information Session7 demonstrates an identified need, with classified mental and social-emotional cases trending higher even before Covid-19. The League has in past statements8 expressed concern for student social-emotional well-being and continues to encourage the Administration to continuously reexamine and provide adequate resources to address the social-emotional needs of all students.

The League notes that the Administration continues to support the elementary class size policy and the middle school house structure. The League continues to recommend supporting traditional class sizes and norms at all levels in order to ensure a classroom environment most conducive to student learning and the achievement of the Administration’s educational goals as outlined in the Strategic Plan.

In addition, the League continues to recommend that the Administration and Board continue to provide appropriate staffing to protect the high academic standards of the high school. The League believes staffing should be reflective of an underlying high school culture that supports academic choice, allows each student to forge a personal connection to an educator and provides a safe, healthy environment in which students can develop and grow.

The League also appreciates the Special Education presentation to the Board on January 24th9 and continues to encourage the Administration to communicate proactively and clearly with the parent community and the community at large regarding the importance of supporting special education students in Scarsdale schools. We would like the Administration to continue to address appropriate staffing and other resource needs as special education students move up within the Scarsdale school system.

Plant and Capital Improvements

The total Plant/Capital Improvements budget for 2022-23 is $1,115,000. This sum is equal to the prior year combined Capital and Maintenance Plant Improvement budgets, $374,000 less than the prior year and $1,429,000 less than the 2019-20 year. The League looks forward to the Building Conditions Survey being completed and shared with the community and would encourage the Administration to formulate a long-term facilities master plan. We would like to reiterate from past statements that, given that several of our schools were built over a century ago, thoughtful 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. In particular, the League encourages the Administration to consider the completion of the high school auditorium renovation a priority in the 2023-24 Budget.

Technology

The League strongly supports the proposed expenditure to study and implement improved WiFi and cellular service in and around our schools such as our playing fields as a safety and communication issue. We encourage the Administration to continue to advocate with the Village to address the dead zones in our cellular coverage.

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

The League notes that a Scarsdale education has long been regarded as a leader amongst its peers, and we recommend that the Administration continue to aspire to educational leadership. The preservation of educational leadership requires a strong and proactive commitment to continuously enhance our educational program, K-12, while keeping the community informed.

The League appreciates the Administration’s work process assessing student performance and adapting curriculum to meet student need, particularly in light of potential learning gaps due to Covid-19. We support the review and adaptations of new curriculum and ideas to maintain Scarsdale as a leader in education.

The League encourages the Administration to communicate clearly and proactively its assessments and plans to the school community.

As new curriculum is introduced, such as the Next Gen math program, the League supports the addition of the proposed temporary math district coordinator position in the Budget to ensure the success of the new program for both teachers and students. The League also supports the addition of a middle school technology teacher as the STEAM curriculum expands and evolves in our schools.

The League encourages the Administration to continue to pursue goals in wellness and sustainability, and especially commends the work being done to incorporate values of diversity, equity and inclusion into the curriculum.11

Advocacy

As per the Board Vice President, the Board has liaisons to both the NYS School Board Association and the Westchester Putnam School Board Association. Board members, including the Board President, have discussed and voted on NYSSBA resolutions and amendments and participated in the Area 10 Director election. Locally, the Board made a statement regarding the proposed introduction of marijuana dispensaries in Scarsdale.12 The Board is not currently engaged in advocacy at the federal level.

The League appreciates the Board’s efforts to increase its level of advocacy this year; however, the League continues to strongly encourage the Board and the Administration as a whole to be leaders in advocacy at both the state and local levels. More specifically, the League urges the Administration and Board to advocate with regulators, local advocacy groups, and elected officials regarding rising utility prices that greatly impact our school finances and continue to be
an ongoing concern.

Budget Process/Community Engagement

The League thanks the Board for creating opportunities for public input into the Budget. Though the League appreciates that the community will have additional opportunities to engage with the Board and Administration regarding the budget after the budget is adopted by the Board, the League encourages greater community outreach efforts with all stakeholders earlier in the budget process and encourages the Board and its Community Engagement Subcommittee to explore additional means and methods of expanding such engagement throughout the year.

Also, and particularly with regard to the budget calendar, the League notes that the one week turnaround time between the final Budget Study Session and the Community Budget Form 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.

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.
Sincerely,
Suzie Hahn
School Budget Portfolio Chair, League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

Alissa Baum
President, League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

Details

Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 05 April 2022

Created: 05 April 2022

Last Updated: 05 April 2022

Hits: 6242

Seeking to clarify what went wrong with the School District’s tax payments in 2020 and 2021, School Board President Karen Ceske read a statement about the issue at the school board meeting on Monday April 4, 2022. (see below)

The meeting was livestreamed on the district website. However, due to an internet connectivity issue, the community was unable to hear her comments.

The statement revealed some new information:

Timing: Though the previous memo from the Board said that the district had been dealing with the tax issue for “several months,” this memo says that the district learned about the errors in June 2021. It says, “In June of 2021, the IRS sent the District a notice of intent to levy and notice of rights to a hearing.” The Board of Education continues to maintain that they first learned of this issue on March 25, 2022.

Tax Lien: Also revealed was the fact that in October 2021, the IRS filed a federal tax lien against the school district in the amount of $1,309,118 which remains in place.

However, there is lots more that needs to be explained.

-How/where did this keying error occur?

-Were similar errors made with the filing of NYS taxes and are there any issues with the state?

-Who is representing the district in negotiations with the IRS?? Who is filing the appeals on behalf of the district? Did the Board of Education approve any payments to tax attorney’s in connection with this issue?

-If the outstanding $843,558 payment to the IRS is not booked as an account receivable, is the proposed 2022-23 school budget over the tax cap? Should it require a 60% approval rate? The budget vote is planned for Tuesday May 17, 2022.

-What is the unrelated error in Q2 of 2022 that resulted in an additional penalty of $412,837?

-Why did the entire issue slip by the auditors?

Here is the statement from Board President Karen Ceske followed by comments and more questions from several residents.

(From Karen) The other important matter this evening is assuring the community that the Board and District are working with legal counsel and other appropriate advisors to resolve the current IRS payroll tax issue. We understand that the community seeks additional information on this issue and timely answers to its questions. I will add more context to the factual information shared at the March 30th Special Meeting and provide some further clarification. We do ask that the community understand that this is presently a matter requiring consultation with and advice from legal counsel, and therefore the Board is still limited in what it can disclose. The Board is committed to providing transparency, and we will update the community as we are able.

The primary issue before us is one of timing. To be clear, all tax payments were made in 2020. However, when keying a Q1 deposit into the payment system, an error occurred, resulting in part of the Q1 payment being paid late and, thus, a corresponding IRS “failure to deposit” penalty was assessed. Moreover, a Q3 deposit was applied to Q2 and a Q4 deposit was applied to Q3, resulting in two further IRS “failure to deposit” penalties being assessed in Q3 and Q4, respectively.

In addition, because Q2 and Q3 had been fully paid at the time the Q3 and Q4 misapplied deposits were made, respectively, the Q3 and Q4 deposits were therefore deemed “overpayments” in Q2 and Q3.

The penalties assessed in Q1 and Q3 totaled $861,320. The penalty in Q4 totaled $448,316.81. Because of the IRS’s penalty structure, instead of being refunded to the District, the District’s Q3 and Q4 tax payments, which had been misallocated and deemed “overpayments” in Q2 and Q3, were applied by the IRS to pay this $861,320 penalty; as a result, a tax shortfall of $843,558 occurred in Q4.

The District has already filed an abatement request and refund claim for the funds used by the IRS to pay the Q1 and Q3 penalties. The District has been advised, verbally, by the IRS Office of Appeals that the Q4 penalty may be abated when the Q4 taxes are satisfied.

In addition, the IRS has also assessed a penalty of approximately $412,837, plus interest, pertaining to an unrelated error with respect to the District's filing of its Q2 2021 payroll tax return. The District has already filed a request for abatement of this penalty.

In June of 2021, the IRS sent the District a notice of intent to levy and notice of rights to a hearing. Over the next several months, District officials had several communications with the IRS regarding the clerical errors in an attempt to clarify what had occurred and to request abatement of all penalties. Despite verbal assurances by the IRS to District employees on several occasions that it would not impose a lien on the District while it was cooperating in an effort to resolve the matter, a federal tax lien was filed by the IRS in October 2021 in the amount $1,309,118.34. Our lawyers are working towards getting this lien released.

The Board was informed about this situation on Friday, March 25th, held an Executive Session with our tax attorneys from BSK on March 28th to discuss the legal consequences, including the potential likelihood of litigation, and disclosed the details of the situation to the public and took action at the March 30th Special Meeting to authorize payment of the outstanding Q4 taxes. We held a Special Meeting on March 30th because we were required to take this action by this date.

In consultation with our auditors, we have confirmed that the $843,558 payment to the IRS for taxes that are due (not penalties or interest) can be deferred and recorded as an account receivable in the General Fund. It will simultaneously be recorded as an allowance against the accounts receivable in the Government-Wide financial statements, along with a footnote disclosure providing more information for the readers of the financial statements. To reiterate, the District has filed for an abatement of these Q1 and Q3 penalties and, if successful, the penalties will be abated, which will result in the $843,558 tax payment becoming an overpayment that can then be refunded.

This issue does not impact the 2022-2023 budget, and the District is seeking a full refund and abatement of all assessed penalties, and if successful, payment of these penalties will not be owed. The exact timing and outcome of such refunds are uncertain. To reiterate, the District has filed for an abatement of these Q1 and Q3 penalties and, if successful, the penalties will be abated and interest will be adjusted, resulting in an approximate $861,320 refund to the District, which can then be applied to the receivable.

In concert with the District, our auditors, and the IRS, corrective measures and additional internal controls have been instituted to ensure these errors do not occur again. The Board has also called for an audit of the District’s payroll tax processes, including a review of internal controls with the District’s Administration and further investigation into this matter.

We acknowledge that the community has the right to answers, and we will continue to update the community as and when additional factual details become available, but for now, we cannot comment or elaborate further because of the legal implications.

A few residents spoke during public comments or sent us their comments for publication after the meeting.

Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez said, “Last week, I emailed questions about the payroll errors. Dr. Hagerman responded and stated the he was responding on behalf of the Administration and the Board. The Board and the Administration are not the same body. The Board is supposed to be independent and its role is to provide oversight. The payroll errors occurred in 2020 and 2021, while Dr. Hagerman has been superintendent. Is it not a conflict of interest that he decides what to answer about this issue and that you the Board do not respond to taxpayers' questions? What oversight did you as a Board provide on audits and accounting documentation when these errors occurred and what oversight are you providing now? In publicly available documents on your BOE website, you are the audit committee signing off on audits and risk assessments. Additionally, in July 2021 you the Board authorized the Assistant Superintendent for Business to certify all payroll registers. What are those registers and did you see those registers? In your Board policy #6800 on payroll procedures, it states that a periodic test will be conducted to verify accuracy and appropriateness of District payrolls. How often is that test conducted, by whom, and when was the last time that this was done? This evening we are learning that the Administration has known about these errors since June 2021. So why was the Board only notified March 25th? The District has been talking to the IRS and auditors since June 2021, how is it possible that the Board was not notified?

I urge you to provide a clear explanation of the recordkeeping and accounting. In my decades of working as a financial risk analyst with private sector and government entities, I have never seen a tax payment be declared an account receivable unless there is proof that tax funds are being reimbursed within twelve months. Once the tax payment is authorized, which you all did unanimously on Wednesday, it is recorded as a payable on the balance sheet. On the revenue/income statement, the payment is labeled as an expense and is subtracted from the revenues. When a company/organization has confirmation that the IRS will reduce some or all of an expense or a penalty, that amount becomes a receivable on the asset side of the balance sheet. And for a pending incoming amount to be labeled a receivable, it should be measurable, collectible and due within twelve months. So, if the District does not know what amount the IRS might refund you and/or when, what part of GASB allows it to be called a receivable? Please point us to the GASB rule that allows a tax expense to now become an account receivable.
And what about the tax penalties, will the District now record those as payables on the balance sheet?

And now that the District has larger payables, how does that affect how Moody’s might score you on leverage, which as it is, that part of the rating methodology is not a AAA, but about one-to-two notches lower?

Also, please tell us what the cost will be of additional counsel, auditors, and maybe improvements in tech systems to detect errors.

Does the District need restate financials or files a notice with the SEC, since the financials are now different than what you filed previously?

Does the District need to restate the financials to submit to NYSED of the State Comptroller?

You just authorized payment of over $843,000, what impact does this payment have on net revenues and the tax cap? Will the decrease in cash affect our rating?

Did these payroll errors surface in an internal or external audit?

Do you need a new auditor?

What are the new controls you have put in place?

We are about to be looking for a fulltime superintendent, how does this scandal attract a qualified professional?

Rachana Singh called in via Zoom and said, “Why did the meeting notice (for the March 30 Board meeting) not include any notice of a tax issue? At that meeting the board again failed to allow public comment. Who are the districts auditors? How much will the legal and accounting fees be? How can they (the Board of Education) do oversight if they were not informed? When was the abatement filed? What is the unrelated effort of $412,000 for Q2 2021?

Will the board disclose the result of an audit? Once paid, it (the taxes and penalties) will reduce the cash at hand – it is a significant burden on taxpayers. It might affect students. Please disclose as many details as possible without jeopardizing the outcome. I urge you to be more transparent to the school community.

Bob Berg spoke at length and you can see his edited comments here:

Bob Harrison said, “This is serious – how did it happen? Who goofed? $800,000. We pride ourselves in our triple AAA rating? Some heads should roll. This is a serious mistake. (Turning to Dr. Hagerman he said, “I think you’re being paid about $459,000 this year. You were supposed to give us 12 months notice and you put us in a difficult spot. Maybe you should resign. How much does the district have in in its bank accounts – what interest rates are you getting? Or is the cash in treasury bills? I would like to get some answers. Let the community know what you are doing with our money.”

Details

Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 22 March 2022

Created: 22 March 2022

Last Updated: 22 March 2022

Hits: 6116

The Scarsdale Board of Education held their third budget study session for the proposed 2022-23 school budget, on March 21, 2022, in advance of the community wide budget vote on Tuesday May 17, 2022.

2022-23 School Budget

There appears to be community wide support for the $173,291,393 budget which is 3.85% above the 2021-22 school budget, translating into a 2.43% increase in school taxes for Scarsdale residents and 3.68% for those in the Mamaroneck strip. The difference in these two rates is due to the variation in the equalization rates between the two towns. The 3.85% increase in the budget is the highest in the past ten years, and almost a full percent above the 2.99% increase in 2014-15.

There is favorable news on the revenue side where the district expects to receive $7.27 mm in state aid, up 3.22% from last year, $101,000 more in building use fees than last year and $1.8 mm in county sales tax, up $44,750 from 2021-22.

Though parents had hoped that the budget could fund the remaining work needed to renovate the SHS auditorium, this budget does not include funding for the seats or work to improve the acoustics.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, Deb Pekarek and Jon Leslie, both Board members of Scarsdale Family Counseling Services, asked the board to reconsider the hiring of two social workers, one for the middle school and the other for the high school. They urged the schools to manage additional mental health needs by using staff from Scarsdale Family Counseling Services who currently runs the youth outreach program in the schools and has served the district for many years.

Pekarek said, “It has come to my attention that the school district is hiring two social workers. I am curious about what are mandated services when they relate to SFCS social workers. I understand that licensed social workers can provide services to students with an IEP. SFCS have provided these services in the past…. NYS does not require that these services are provided.”

She continued, “This is almost a 40 year partnership between the school district and SFCS and has been a collaboration that has worked and thrived…. I would venture to guess that if additional social workers are needed the Village Board would entertain financing this.” Discussing the financial implications, she said, “The SFCS model has been more efficient and has been in place for 40 years. I respectfully ask that you work within the framework of the existing process in a fiscally prudent fashion and work these additional social workers into the collaboration with SFCS.”

She concluded, “While we cannot predict the future, once you pull a thread, certain things are bound to unravel.”

Jon Leslie, also of 43 Greeanacres Avenue concurred. He said, “I know that COVID has led to increased mental health needs. The SFCS is in a unique position to address those needs. Setting up social workers at the Middle School and the High School is not the way to go. We have a way to handle these needs through youth services. SFCS concurs that more resources are needed. However you have decided to ignore the partnership and set up an unnecessary infrastructure at a higher expense.”

PTA presidents from both the high school and the middle school agreed with the administrations recommendation to hire two in house social workers.

Speaking on behalf of the PTA Executive Committee and the PTC , SHS PTA President Joey Silberfien said, “We reiterate our strong support for the two full time mental health workers. The district has identified significant mental health issues and they are only heightened now. We strongly encourage the BOE to maintain support for mental health, and to identify immediate needs and programming… we believe these needs will be met with two full time employees.”

SMS PTA President Leah Dembitzer said, “The PTA Executive Committee supports the increase in staffing as proposed by Principal Troy, including an in-house social worker. The pandemic is a catalyst for these requests. Principal Troy has requested this person for continuity and as a touchpoint.” She said, ”The need is immense. Our students require more attention than is currently available to them. We support SFCS and the new mental health workers.”

See the presentation and learn more here: https://vimeopro.com/scarsdaleschoolstv/boe-2021-2022.

Residents are invited to ask questions and comment on the budget at a school budget forum sponsored by the LWVS at 10 am on Thursday May 22 and at a budget forum on March 28 at the Board of Education meeting.

Superintendent Search

In other board news, Board President Karen Ceske updated the community on the search for an interim superintendent and for a permanent replacement for Dr. Thomas Hagerman who will leave in June. She said, “The board is identifying an interim superintendent. We set forth criteria for the position and reached out to the community. We received 108 responses which affirmed and added to our criteria. We are vetting interim candidates and making good progress.”

For the superintendent search, she said, “We have identified potential search firms and are making good progress on the RFP.”

Board news:

Board member Carl Finger, who is now serving his first three year term on the Board of Education announced that he would not seek a second term. He said, “I came to the difficult decision not to run for a second term on the School Board –- but I will still be around.”

Board President Karen Ceske also will not seek a second term and Ron Schulhof is up for re-nomination. The School Board Nominating Committee should be announcing their three candidates for School Board soon. Last year the nominations were announced on March 23, 2021.

Education Report

Assistant Superintendent Edgar McIntosh provided an education report, which among many exciting programs.

MTSS

McIntosh reviewed a new program that supplies tools and analytics to assess, track and provide student support called MTSS or Multi-Tiered System of Support. This system will allow the district to identify students who need additional academic, social, emotional and behavioral support. This program is cohesive and consistent and provides resources for the collection and recording of data that will allow the district to provide the right resources for student success.

He then summarized some educational programming at all levels:

-At the elementary schools, the technology team is educating students on media literacy and kindergartners are involved in decoding words while learning to read.

-For high school students McIntosh discussed a global learning program called Envoy Summits which allow students to hold virtual exchanges with students from other countries.

-A global entrepreneurship challenge asks students to identify climate change needs in their own communities and do case studies on solving climate challenges. They will ideate, test and iterate their solutions.

-A Scarsdale Saturday Virtual Summit on April 30th will invite experts to address students on issues around sustainability. There will also be input from student leaders and local experts.

International STEAM school partnerships will pair Scarsdale students with STEAM students from other schools in Buenos Aires and Paris.

-For the first time, the high school will hold a Non-Sibi Day of service on May 27 focused on wellness. Community groups and other non-profits will be invited to participate. There is a hope that this will become an annual event.

-Students at all schools are participating in gardening programs where they cultivate flowers and vegetables.

Watch the entire board meeting online here.