Complex Thinking and a Budget Surplus at the Scarsdale Board of Education

At the Scarsdale Board of Education on Monday night September 26th, tenure, class size, and critical thinking were on the agenda. The Board noted that last year was the first that the school asked for parent and student input on tenure decisions, by distributing questionnaires about teachers who were eligible for tenure. This new system was a success and the Board found that much of the feedback they got from the parents matched the schools’ evaluation. Residents can get the list of those up for tenure by calling the District office.

Dr. McGill discussed elementary school class size which was a hotly debated issue in the past school year. While class size is capped at 22 for grades Kindergarten-third and 24 in fourth and fifth, an exception will be made if there are children move into the district after August 15. According to McGill, the applicant pool of teachers late in the summer isn’t strong and he believes students are better served by being placed in an experienced teacher’s class with one extra student than by being placed in an additional section with a new teacher. (Though in this economy, one would imagine there are good teachers looking for work regardless of the date).

Among the items discussed and voted on were the approval of grant applications, money for new textbooks, new vehicles for out of district students, the student activity fund report and the health advisory council. Much of this was procedural and the Board quickly ratified the agenda.

The Board also heard from the community:

• Renee Baylor of Greenacres talked about the traffic pattern around Huntington Avenue and what could be done to mitigate potential accidents or tie-ups due to students crossing the street from the school to the field.
• The new executive director of the Teen Center Ellen Tiven-Moore was introduced as was the program director, Eugenia Valliades, a Scarsdale High School and Boston University graduate.
• Art Rublin co-director for the Coalition for Scarsdale Schools spoke about the fight against the tax-cap that was waged in Albany earlier this year, and stressed the importance of the town override.

A large portion of Monday’s meeting was dedicated to an education report. Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lynne Shain, gave a presentation titled: “Can Scarsdale Students Solve the World’s Problems.” In it she discussed new ways for students to learn in a more dynamic fashion. The approach aligns with colleges’ expectations and also allows students to look at more complex issues and deal with high level challenges that often don’t have one answer. Shain called these type of problem, “wicked problems.” Shain illustrated this style of teaching by looking at an Earth Science problem. The first was deemed a level one type question; one that looked at land erosion and water flow. It was typical of a question that would be on a Regents exam. The second, a level two type question asked the student to draw from their knowledge of social studies as well as science and examine the flow of the Mississippi River and its tributaries and how the water flow affected regions, such a New Orleans.

The third, and most complex question looked at water flow, erosion and water rights between the US and Mexico. This involved economic, social as well as scientific and geographic knowledge. It was multidisciplinary and involved teamwork. Shain explained that this is the level of thinking and work they hope high school students achieve. She admits that this will take time as it involves new ways of thinking and breaking down walls between classes and subjects while adhering to state requirements. One can certainly see how students will be able to apply these skills and abstract thinking to real world issues. It will also require students to listen and work with others on challenges that do not have simple solutions.

Jeff Martin, District Financial Officer presented the 2011 financial report and said that at the opening of the 2011-12 school year the budget showed a $1.4 million surplus. While surpluses are always preferable to deficits, which the District faced at this time last year, Board member Lewis Leone bristled that the estimate was so far off. He suggested that taxpayers would think that the Board was padding the budget while raising taxes. Martin explained that the surplus came from many items that were unknowable when the budget was created, including lower energy costs, state aid and a large savings in health care costs. By switching health care plans, the District saved $1 million. This cost-savings could not have been estimated earlier. About half of the surplus will go back taxpayers, and the balance will be used to increase the retirement reserve and other savings and reserves.

Other items on the agenda that evening included authorizing funding for the teen center, establishing a Tax Certiorari Reserve and discussion of proposed capital projects such as repairs to Dean Field/baseball field. The Board discussed the merits of a Village plan to use excess soil from a storm water management program at George Field to raise the height of the gravel lot at the High School parking lot. Though this was not originally a priority, it may make sense to do the work in conjunction with the Village to avert flooding at the school.

On October 11, the Board will hold an open session for the school community at Edgewood School at 7:15pm, followed by a Board meeting at 8pm.