School Board Pays Tribute to Chayes and Kemp and Returns Surplus Funds to Taxpayers

At the last meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Education on June 20, 2011, Board President Jill Spieler saved the best agenda item for the end of the meeting. It was well past 10:30 when the Board turned to the reason many in the audience were there … to hear and deliver tributes to departing Board members Linda Chayes and Barbara Kemp.

Parting remarks were made by Board President Jill Spieler, Superintendent Michael McGill, Scarsdale League of Women Voters President Mary Lou Cooper Green, Scarsdale Forum President B.K. Munguia, P.T. Council President Tracy Jaffe, Trudy Moses on behalf of the Scarsdale Teachers Association, Assistant Superintendant Joan Weber and the departing Board members themselves.

Both women were credited for the significant contributions they made during their six-year terms, including a year as President of the Board for each.

Speaking about Chayes, Spieler called her a steadfast supporter of each child who demonstrated concern for child development, made significant impact in many academic areas and was an advocate for parent input in teacher evaluations. This year she served as the Board representative on the Westchester-Putnam Board and kept the Scarsdale Board informed about state and national issues.

Spieler called Kemp a strong leader with a love of the law and a demonstrated code of ethics. As President of the School Board in 2009-10, Kemp worked with the faculty who reopened their contract and gave back funds to the district.

McGill echoed Spieler’s sentiments, calling Chayes warm, authentic and intensely decent and crediting Kemp with an open mind, wit and wide-angle intelligence.

Barbara Kemp complimented the board and the administration and the wonderful job they do and said it was a pleasure to serve and to help move the district forward. She said by working collaboratively “we all come out ahead,” and thanked the community for their support of excellence in education.

Chayes called it a great honor to serve on the board, and said by working collaboratively she learned that “the group is wiser and smarter than any one individual.” Looking to the future, she said, “there are some tough times ahead but this community is in good hands.” She also remembered Irving Sloan who was a champion of involvement and urged everyone to follow his example and step us, attend a board meeting, and read the Inquirer. She closed by saying, “I graduated from SHS, my children graduated and now I am graduating from the Board. Three graduations should be enough for everyone and I think I am ready to move on.”

Speaking for the Scarsdale Forum, President BK Munguia said that both women share common attributes of intelligence, warmth, wit, sensitivity and the ability to build consensus. She invited them to contribute to the Forum, saying, “It is my hope that you will lend your expertise Forum studies in the future.”

On behalf of the Scarsdale League of Women Voters, President Mary Lou Cooper Green thanked Chayes and Kemp for responding to the League’s concerns during a difficult year. She praised Chayes for her focus on the students and Kemp for her intellect and ability to facilitate a free exchange of opinion.

Tracy Jaffe President of the PT Council called Chayes and Kemp thoughtful participants who represented the parents’ issues with respect.

Speaking of the economic downturn, Trudy Moses said, “Dr. Chayes headed the Board as the economy went south and had the impossible task of keeping Scarsdale, Scarsdale.” She complimented Chayes on the “humaness with which (she) approached every decision and with her input on alleviating student stress.

Turning to Kemp, she called her a professional with a keen mind and marveled at how she spoke to the faculty at length, without notes. She remembered how Kemp resolved difficult decisions about the school budget and the teacher’s contract and wished Kemp all the best.

Joan Weber waxed poetic, saying, “They are our dream chasers -- always believing they can help us make it happen. These volunteers are special.” Weber said, “both have served this community with distinction during one of the most challenging times in our history and placed a high value on collaboration and trust.”

Adding a little levity, she presented each with an illustrated poster, Kemp’s showed her behind bars and Chayes is pictured on the therapist’s couch. Referring to Kemp’s career as a lawyer and Chayes as a clinical psychologist, Weber said, “After six years the prosecutor will be paroled and the therapist will be certified sane.”

Also on the lengthy agenda for the last meeting of the year were the following:

Jill Spieler will serve another years as President of the Board of Education for the year 2011-12.

Spieler named Ellen Miller Wachtell to head the Steering Committee for the establishment of a Scarsdale Educational Foundation. Liz Guggenheimer will serve as the Board liaison to the committee and Dr. McGill will be the Administrative liaison.

Utilizing a nicely produced slide presentation, School Superitendant Michael McGill and Assistant Superintendant Lynne Shain recapped the school year and delivered the annual report. Highlights of the year included the first year of full day kindergarten, the SHS Soccer team’s advancement to the state tournament, national recognition for the Singapore Math Program, endless snow days and professional development for the district’s teachers.

The annual district report titled, “A Transformative Education” defines the mission of a Scarsdale Education; “To change lives and empower tomorrow’s citizens to transform their world for the better.” Some of the elements of the curriculum, which teaches critical and creative thinking, include:

• Full day kindergarten
• School gardens
• Sustainability research
• Creativity and the arts
• Analyzing health issues
• Using technology to advance learning
• Information fluency
• Learning about the global community
• Science and math simulations
• Caring for others
• Project based learning
• High school science research
• Fifth grade Capstone project
• Senior Options

Lynne Shain took the group through three programs that teach critical and creative thinking, discussing a kindergarten program on recycling, a middle school project on designing and sequencing a comic strip and the development of a screen play for a scene from the Great Gatsby for High School students. She showed how students at all levels learn to analyze complex problems, synthesize information, develop an understanding of artifacts and media and create an original presentation.

McGill reported the next steps in the development of the critical and creative thinking curriculum:

• To clarify targets of quality student critical and creative thinking work
• To build and pilot comprehensive assessments of student thinking
• To evaluate results and adjust instruction accordingly

McGill despaired over new state mandates that will force the district to impose traditional teaching methods rather than move forward with these exciting new initiatives. He vowed to “hold open as much space as we can for critical thinking programs.”

Turning to the budget, Assistant Superintendant Linda Purvis told the Board that the district ended the year with a surplus of $1.4 million due to better results from the health insurance plan, savings on electrical costs and a surplus in the special education budget.

However, since the time of the budget vote there where declines in the tax roll from small claims and tax grievances. These declines would have meant that Scarsdale taxpayers would have a 4.97% school tax increase, rather than the 4.81% increase that was approved by voters in May. Purvis gave the Board the choice of returning surpluses to the taxpayer or retaining them. As a tax cap vote is imminent, Purvis advocated retaining the funds for next year when the budget situation is projected to be difficult.

After considerable discussion, the Board voted to return $200,000 of the surplus to the taxpayers to maintain the budget increase to 4.81% and to use the balance to fund the 2011-2012 school budget.