District Proposes Further Cuts to 2024-25 School Budget

Struggling to minimize tax increases while meeting the educational needs of all Scarsdale students, the district presented reductions in the 2024-5 school budget at their third budget study session on Monday March 11, 2024. The meeting drew a large audience of concerned community members both in person and online.

This third proposed budget reflects a net reduction of $917,247 in expenditures vs. the March 4 proposal and brings the budget increase down from 4.48% to 3.96% and the tax levy increase down from 4.95% to 4.39%. However, it still exceeds the state tax cap of 3.63% and would require a 60% approval vote from the community.

BOE President Ron Schulof set the stage saying, “The administration began the process with the board by presenting their staffing recommendations for the upcoming school year and the educational impact of those recommendations. These were presented on January 22nd. At the following two meetings, on February 5th and March 4th, the administration presented a deeper dive into the budget drivers of each area of the district as well as the educational goals that the budget proposal would support. During these two meetings, the board and administration also discussed the funding implications of these proposals being presented, including the staffing proposals.”

Schuhof went on to explain, “Tonight, in response to the board’s request, the administration will present two additional budget scenarios,” and added, “It is our goal this evening to come to a consensus on a budget proposal to bring forward to the community for consideration and feedback.”

After a detailed presentation of the most recent budget scenario in which more reductions were made to bring the increase closer to the state mandated tax cap, the BOE members did indeed come to a consensus. Except for Robert Klein, who believes that the Board should support the budget proposed on March 4th, each of the members read a prepared statement in support of the budget presented on Monday, March 11th.

Presenting the revision, Superintendent Dr. Drew Patrick explained the multitude of expenditure reductions administrators had to make in order to arrive at these new numbers. Some of the cuts include items like a BOCES reduction which will eliminate an Annual Indoor Air Quality Baseline Testing and a reduction in Consultants which would reduce work with assessment consultants. Dr. Patrick assured the BOE that the Annual Air Quality Assessment is a measure that Scarsdale takes that goes above and beyond the call of duty and that the air quality for our students and teachers will still be maintained and safe. Andrew Lennon added that since the District has utilized the Air Quality Assessment for the last several years, we have a good understanding of where we are currently at and know how to address problem areas quickly and effectively.

Other areas of expenditure reductions are shown below:

Reduce Painting projections district wide
Reduce Window Repairs to egress/rescue windows only
Safety, Security and Emergency Management (SSEM) with a Reduction to only one entrance @ SHS in afternoon and on Saturdays
SSEM - Delay start of Elementary Monitor to 7:45am (instead of 7am)
Arts Education - arts enrichment (K-5)
Arts Education - arts enrichment (SHS)
BOCES - Sustainability Reduce QRS Garden Renovation
Arts Education - other arts programs
Arts Education - arts enrichment
Arts Education - other institutional connection
Reduce budget for athletics filming
Arts Education - arts enrichment (SMS)

In discussing these cuts Dr. Patrick made clear that reductions in Arts Education would not affect teachers or courses offered, and rather would only impact areas of art enrichment such as the contract with Alvin Ailey Dance and other programs brought in to enrich the students’ experiences and learning.

BOE member Robert Klein asked if we could possibly partner with organizations like Friends of Music and the Arts to supplement some of these enrichments. Patrick responded by first extending his gratitude to the FMA for all of the incredible work they do with our schools. He went on to explain that while he greatly appreciates their help, he would never want to expect it from them or rely on them to assure that our District can deliver programming in a consistent manner.

Still more cuts include reductions in Employee Benefits, Equipment, Furniture, Salary and Wages, and Supplies including a the current full time Public Information Officer. It would omit the proposal to add a .5 SHS math teacher to teach multivariable calculus and financial literacyand .2 FTE secretary. For more line-item details in each of these areas, please refer to the full report here:

BOE member Jim Dugan expressed his concern with cutting the 0.5 SHS Math teacher in the salary and wages portion of reductions and wondered if the 13 or so students who are interested in taking the multivariable calculus class could perhaps engage in an independent study with a current math teacher or take an online course. Patrick assured the BOE that there are teachers who currently engage students in independent studies and that SHS also has an arrangement with a university for online support for this class. Nothing was mentioned about the fInancial literacy course this .5 math teacher would also teach.

Patrick and Lennon also briefly explained why the District can no longer rely on the use of the school district’s fund balance to keep tax increases below the tax cap. You can read more about the fund balance in this article.

Though this proposed budget is still slightly over the state mandated tax cap, it preserves integral aspects of the excellent education Scarsdale residents have come to expect for their children. Some of these aspects include items like funding the exceptional level of instruction provided through small class sizes (elementary), the house and team structure (middle school), and vibrant program of study (high school), maintaining our technology infrastructure, and ensuring that staffing levels are consistent with community expectations.

Dr. Patrick went on to describe the possible reductions that could occur should we adopt a budget that stays within the Tax Levy Limit (tax cap). Some of these cuts include Teacher Aides- across the board, Abolish 1.0 Math Curriculum Coordinator, Athletics (B teams), Abolish 1.0 Computer Teacher (SMS) and much, much more. Patrick described these reductions as cuts that would greatly impact the quality of education offered to our students.

As a reminder, Patrick shared these remarks with the BOE and those in attendance:

“...this is my first full year as Superintendent, and it is Andrew’s first year as our Assistant Superintendent for Business. Neither of us expected to need to propose such a large budget increase, and we have only done so because it reflects the reality we face. Both the growth of our programs, increases in costs of goods and services, and rising benefit costs have collectively created the pressure we are now experiencing. As Superintendent, my aim is to 1) recommend a budget that continues the programs and services that we think our students deserve and that our community expects, and 2) establish strategies and practices that promote the long-term fiscal health of the district. The budget work we have done reflects these goals. Unfortunately, achieving the first goal requires expenditures in excess of the tax cap. However, we believe that adopting a budget above the tax cap will enable us the resources and time needed to carry out the second goal. A major building block needed to carry out this goal is already well underway- the significant step of transitioning to a new financial management platform. With that completed, we expect to be in a position to present the components of a long term financial plan, and a fund balance and reserve strategy next Fall. Together, these structures and tools will enable us to make the informed decisions necessary to close the gap between expenditures and revenues.”

Before entering into a discussion and coming to a consensus on which budget the BOE would choose to propose to the community at large, Shulhof took the opportunity to remind everyone of the three scenarios the administration has proposed so far:

Scenario 1 - Administration’s Recommended Budget: This budget would accomplish all of the proposed budget goals outlined during the budget discussions. This proposal would have a tax levy increase of 4.95% and was presented at the March 4th meeting and already includes reductions discussed at that meeting.

Scenario 2 - Budget Reductions: This budget incorporates budget reductions which would have some impact on the proposed budget goals but attempts to limit impacts to core educational programming. Of course as Drew mentioned, any reductions impact students and programming even if they are indirect reductions or deferrals. This proposal would have a tax levy increase of 4.39% and includes those reductions which were presented tonight, March 11th.

Scenario 3 - Meet the Tax Cap: This budget would be at the tax cap and would have significant impacts to the budget goals and also impact existing programming and educational staffing. A budget at the tax cap would have a tax levy increase of 3.63%.

Each member of the BOE had a turn to speak and to clarify which scenario/budget they support, and each member read from a thoughtfully and carefully prepared statement. Some of their comments include:

Amber Yusuf said she supports the budget proposed on March 11th (Scenario 2) because it is “a budget that adheres to the values and principles we hold dear for the benefit of our students, but places our budget above the politically constructed tax cap. This budget does not address every wish of the administration or this board. I lament our inability to add new programs like financial literacy to our array of offerings, yet I recognize that rising inflation and rising healthcare costs, combined years of depleting fund balance to address our growing programs and needs has led us to this critical decision point. However I am confident that this budget will maintain our commitment to excellence for all of our students - ranging from support of all of our athletes to adhering to our commitment to our students with highest needs. This budget keeps our students and faculty and staff safe, while maintaining our safety and security needs, which have grown so dramatically in recent years. Our support for the mental health professionals and programs also remains intact, in an effort to continue to support the ever increasing challenges of our complex world.”

Jim Dugan recognized the unique responsibility he has, as a board member who has children currently attending the Scarsdale schools, to balance his desire to have the schools be as good as they possibly can be, with his responsibility to the larger community. Having said that, he expressed that he felt the budget from March 11th works to meet these two vying factors half way and achieves a balance that gets us closer to the tax cap while preserving programs and staff. He stressed that supporting this budget is important for the future of Scarsdale.

Robert Klein explained that after seeing the monetary difference between the March 4th and March 11th proposals on slide # 24 of the presentation, he feels the substantial benefits to our students and teachers of keeping the items in the proposed budget from March 4th outweigh the savings to be had if we cut them, and promote the latest budget draft from March 11th. The cost savings for each taxpayer in Scarsdale from the March 4th proposed budget to the March 11th budget is an anticipated $126. He feels inclined to support the budget proposed on March 4th.

Colleen Brown supports the budget proposed on March 11th because it still maintains elements important to deliver a world class education (such as small class sizes, global education opportunities, safety and security and so much more) and supports our District’s mission.

Jessica Resnick-Ault agreed with Brown and added that she feels the budget proposed on March 11th still supports the whole child and the vital components of an exceptional education. While supportive of promoting the March 11th budget, Resnick-Ault laments that this budget was unable to include additional positions like a new dean at the high school which she feels would greatly benefit the students.

BOE Vice- President Suzie Hahn shared her statement:

“Reviewing three possible scenarios represented by these budget proposals has not been easy. On the one hand (or actually, my heart), I don’t want to give up anything that can serve the mission of our Scarsdale Schools - that mission to sponsor each student's full development, enabling our youth to be effective and independent contributors in a democratic society and an interdependent world. People choose to live in Scarsdale for one reason, and that’s the excellence of our school system. To shortchange that would be a great disservice to our children and to our whole community.

On the other hand (or maybe I can call it my head), Scarsdale has faced (as has all schools in our area) big challenges in the last few years between general inflation, higher healthcare costs, aging facilities in the face of extreme weather events, the need for increased safety and security measures, and special education and student mental health needs which have all grown significantly. Clearly these financial needs need to be addressed.

Despite all these rising cost factors, Scarsdale has stayed within the tax cap until now, but given our fund balances and reserves, it is time. Seeing what a budget to the cap would look like, I don’t recognize Scarsdale in it. It eliminates programs and services that directly impact student experience and have consequences that are beyond academic but would affect student mental health as well. The tax cap, as I mentioned last week, is a political construct created in Albany that doesn’t properly account for inflation, or unfunded mandates for that matter. Scarsdale should determine how to fund its schools and Scarsdale alone.

Between March 4th’s and tonight’s budgets, though there are certainly items that I personally would love to see preserved through to tonight’s version, I have to agree with my fellow Board members that tonight’s budget is the fiscally prudent course while still maintaining the best of a Scarsdale education. Particularly I would love for the community to give us feedback on the financial literacy and multivariable calculus 0.5 FTE, as well as input on the arts enrichments. But overall I support tonight’s budget as it delivers on an excellent education for our students. Thank you again.”

BOE President Ron Schulhof stated, “This has been the most difficult budget process I have been a part of since joining the Board. I think about all of the exciting programming and educational ideas we discuss at this Board table and that our budget is a means to invest in our education, both for current and future students. I also have to consider the fiscal realities we face and that we have continued to grow our educational programming over the years by utilizing, in part, our fund balance. I believe the budget presented tonight – referred to as the March 11th budget – is the appropriate balance between delivering our educational programming while respecting our fiscal responsibilities.”

Shulhof also strongly encourages our community to provide feedback to the BOE and reminded the community that, “The Board is not scheduled to take a vote on the budget until April 8th. This process allows time for the community to review the budget being proposed, provide feedback, and for the Board and administration to discuss and consider the feedback we receive at the Budget Forum on March 25th. Anyone who would like to provide feedback is welcome to speak during public comment tonight. If you want more time to review the budget before sharing your feedback, the Budget Forum on March 25th begins with public comment prior to the Board and Administration’s discussion. The Board also welcomes you to write to us at boardofed@scarsdaleschools.org. We thank everyone who has taken the time to speak during previous meetings or contact us with their feedback and look forward to continuing to hear from the community on next year’s proposed budget.”

At Monday’s Budget Study Session # 3, many community members took advantage of the Public Comment to share their thoughts and concerns about the budget. Here are some of the highlights:

Lloyd Katz read from a prepared statement that explained, “For more than a decade, schools and local governments in NY State have been required to comply with a cap that limits tax increases to no more than 2%. As long as inflation remained at or below the 2% level, the effects of this approach were largely limited. Since the end of the pandemic, with the return of inflation rates as high as 8%, the folly of having a tax cap which does not keep pace with inflation is obvious. This District is now at a crossroads, and you must make a decision whether you are going to adequately fund our schools’ needs with a sufficient tax increase.”

Katz went on to argue, “This problem is not unique to Scarsdale schools; it is faced by schools and local governments across the state. You cannot operate in fear of those members of the electorate who will oppose an increase. No doubt some will. I implore you to come up with a budget that the schools truly need that preserves the quality of the education provided here as well as the District’s solvency. You should feel comfortable arguing that case before the public. Most of the families in Scarsdale are thoughtful people who want the best for our children and our schools. We will listen to reason.

Like just about everyone else, my wife and I do not like seeing our tax rates rise. We believe, though, that in some cases this is money well spent. We urge members of the community to recognize the importance of our schools, not only to our students, but to ourselves as well. The value of the homes in this district is in large part tied to the quality of the schools. The cuts being considered by the Board may in the end cost us far more in lost home values than any amount of taxes saved.”

Lastly Katz touched on the increasing needs of students citing that “Nationally, the percentage of students requiring special education services is approximately 15%, nearly double the level of 40 years ago. Scarsdale has seen a similar rise. Those needs touch every level of school-from elementary through high school and must be addressed with continued hiring.” As Katz pointed out, this is in addition to the rising need for mental health support and a demand for more specialized courses, in math, financial literacy, civics, and foreign language, especially when other, arguably lesser districts offer such courses.

Art Rublin took the podium next and first thanked the administration and the BOE for focusing on what is best for Scarsdale and not a politically constructed tax cap. Rublin also expressed that in choosing to do what is best for our students, we are choosing to do what is best for the community. He stated that Scarsdale is a one industry town and that people move here, and live here because of the excellent schools. He also expressed that there is a delta between the minimal tax increase that each taxpayer could see, relative to home values here.

Rachana Singh also spoke in person and first advocated for long term financial planning that targets at a minimum a five year forecasting. Saying that, “A five year forecast plan will provide a comprehensive outline of the district's projected revenue and expenditures. Key revenue Levers like state, local and federal would influence your five year forecast and so will key expenditure like a 5 year facility plan, 5 year tech plan and five year special education forecast. I feel this is the appropriate time to commit to such forecasting.”

Among other concerns, Singh went on to advocate for a process that determines the efficacy of the Reveal Math curriculum and the social work support and questioned the decision to keep the Special Education Admin position over SHS FTE math teacher and argued that, “We need to put the educational outcomes of the special education cohort over the administrative needs.”

Claudine Gecel expressed her empathy for everyone working on the budget and recognized that it is a very difficult process especially given the current climate. She urged the BOE to make reductions in capital expenditures and expressed her opinion that they should be tabled for now.

Justin Goh delivered his comments via Zoom and strongly advocated for the addition of a .5 math teacher at SHS who would teach Multivariable Calculus and Financial Literacy. Goh explained that, “For many colleges and particular majors (STEM, business), math rigor is their number one criteria for admissions, and our curriculum is falling behind.The math progression for the most advanced students at SHS is not matching the rigor and opportunities provided by other schools. The top schools now track students into AP Calculus BC in Junior year and then Multivariable or other advanced topics for Senior year. You can see this if you look at pages 42-45 of this course catalog for Harrison. In addition, Harrison has arranged for their students to get college credit through Syracuse University.”

Robert Berg spoke via Zoom and warned that the District is heading down a challenging path and feels that our community doesn’t need a divisive budget fight. He also believes the administration can make even more cuts to the budget saying that “they haven’t even begun to cut into muscle.”

Mayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez was the last to express her concerns via Zoom saying, “Taxpayers are being asked to accept a huge budget without concrete evidence as to why items are being proposed or why they are being removed. For example, soon affecting our middle and high schoolers were the requests for an SHS dean and ½ FTE for financial literacy and multivariable calculus. Now those requests have been withdrawn. There was barely an explanation as to why those requests were made and then no explanation as to why the requests were withdrawn. When was the last time parents were invited by the District to have a conversation about what we think about the math curriculum? Is it innovative? I teach financial literacy and capital markets courses to middle and high schoolers every summer who are from China, India, Korea, and top schools in the U.S. Their level of math and financial literacy is outstanding; I want to make sure that Scarsdale students also have that knowledge.
Because we are such a diverse community, it is so important for the District to really explain why certain items are proposed or withdrawn.”

Irena Spiegel-Turner spoke on the behalf of the PTC Budget Committee and read from a list of prepared questions that they have proposed to the BOE. Some of the questions include:

1. Would the administration please discuss its view of best practices regarding the budget process as it relates to the tax cap? Meaning, does budgeting to the NYS tax cap over many years affect the fiscal health of a school district? What are the current implications and effects that we experience in our budget process as related to the above. For example, will the decrease in reserve levels affect future bond issuance or borrowing in the near future?

2. Please share the rationale for favoring the March 11th budget vs the March 4th budget, with the former having an approximate $100 variance tax increase per median assessed household? Please share the considerations in a comparison to reach a conclusion to favor the comparable March 11th budget over the March 4th budget?

3. Would you please clarify: the March 11th budget, as generally chosen by the majority of the Board, has reduced security hours, meaning that this will affect and limit door access at the athletic entrance at the high school during weekday afternoons, correct?

Further, to clarify, reduced security hours in the 3/11 budget will potentially limit door access for early morning orchestra and band at the elementary schools as children will have to be dropped off in a short window of time while the teacher is available to open the door. So if a child misses that window, they would potentially be locked out?

4. Please clarify again how much will be taken from reserves this year (2023-24) to fill any gaps between expenditures and revenues.

5. Is there a plan— perhaps part of the Strategic Plan— related to curricular enhancements in order for Scarsdale Schools to be on the cutting edge of public school education?

6. What considerations are going into planning for additional resources in Scarsdale High School to accommodate the continuum of special education for rising students year over year?

7. Has the district received Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) aid from the State and how is that allocated across the district?

8. Can you share what revenue streams go into the ‘Other Revenues’ line item? What is primarily causing the drop of revenue streams and how can it be increased?

9. What methodology is followed to allocate the furniture budget across the different schools? Can we see a breakout by school?

You can see these statements and the full Budget Study Session # 3 in their entirety here https://vimeopro.com/scarsdaleschoolstv/boe2324/video/922197404. And if you have thoughts, comments, or concerns about the proposed budget, make sure to tune in to the Budget Forum on March 25th which will begin with public comment prior to the Board and Administration’s discussion.