Board Debates Funding for Technology and Innovation at Second Budget Session

Originally scheduled for February 5th, the ice storm caused the second of four Scarsdale School Budget Study sessions to be moved to February 6th.

Suzanne Seiden, School Board President opened the session with a reminder about the importance of the budget discussions, especially in light of the rejection of the proposed budget in May, 2013 for the first time in 40 years. Seiden said, "I urge community members to look at the budget that is available on the school website. Keep in mind that it's only the beginning of a proposal and there are many more budget meetings in the future, so let your voice be heard." She pleaded for respect between people with opposing viewpoints and asked the board to be fiscally responsible and efficient while also preserving the high quality of education in Scarsdale.

According to Seiden the budget study sessions are working sessions where various budgets will be considered and evaluated. She reminded people that although the board will listen to and consider input from the community and school administrators, "...the board serves as the community's stewards and we will do what we will think is best and this will require compromise from all of us."

Dr. Michael McGill, Superintendent of Schools, reviewed the first budget study session. Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent for Business, followed and advised that all current budget numbers are estimates. She emphasized that the pension contributions range from 17.25%-17.75%, and were likely to remain on the higher end.

Lynne Shain, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, presented program improvement funds in the budget. Though there will be no cost increases over last year, the plan will enhance education and services through professional education and staff development, support for curriculum development and renewal and for practices that give teachers the opportunity to offer individual attention and to innovate. She discussed professional development for the teachers and said that federal money for this is area is decreasing annually. "The quality of teaching has the biggest impact on student learning," she underscored. She reviewed many of the Center for Innovation initiatives including "Hack Scarsdale," site visits and speakers. Shain said, "What has CFI done? It has opened doors in our district, and we have been asked to make presentations about the program here and abroad." She stressed the importance of program improvements and said that passing the budget will ensure that these programs remain in place and continue to be enhanced.

Seiden spoke to the benefits of professional development referring to a presentation by Lisa Yakona (art teacher) and Maggie Favretti (history teacher) on the impact of the Scarsdale Teachers Institute (STI) and the Center for Innovation (CFI) on learning and enrichment. Seiden asked Lynne Shain, "How can we preserve this, even with the same amount of money?" Shain replied, "We will continue to bring in speakers, we will continue to make visits. We think there is promise in the existing projects. Each one has the potential to spread further." Discussing the Makerspace project she said, "It's starting in one small area in the school, but we hope it will expand physically to classrooms in the school. With $25,000 we will not fund new projects." Bill Natbony asked, "Would some small increase make a difference in what you could do this year?" Jerry Crisci, Director of Technology, responded by saying that they spent the $25,000 wisely and documented the first year of projects. He thinks that $25,000 in additional funds would help to fund two to three additional projects and would be put to good use.

Board member Leila Shames Maude had a concern about the arts and education initiatives such as Lincoln Center. She wanted to know how many students those programs touched. Shain responded that many kids are impacted by visiting performances and arts programs. She has tangible data to back up the positive impact of these programs on students' education.

At this point, Suzanne Seiden proposed that an additional $25,000 be added to the Center for Innovation budget. Lew Leone expressed reservations about CFI and didn't think the CFI projects were very innovative. He said, "We don't need a Center for Innovation for speakers and trips.... How innovative is a Makerspace when you see them all over the place? I haven't seen the results." He was in favor of keeping the funding at the previous year's level unless new funds were used to bring speakers to the Scarsdale schools. Dr. McGill responded by saying, "Scarsdale is a progressive community, but there are large numbers of people in the community who do not expect us to be doing radical experiments in instruction." However he added, "One way you get people to think about change is to sew the seeds by making visits, hearing speakers, and reading books that push the edges of practice." Shain added that the faculty has seen progress with CFI, and Bill Natbony added that he was in favor of increased funding for the Center. Mary Beth Gose spoke about what she called the Center's "lack of accountability" at this time and thought it best to keep funding at the present level until a formal evaluation of the program has been completed. Lynne Shain disagreed, saying that an e-journal was published in September detailing the results of the eight original CFI projects. In October, the Scarsdale School's Foundation awarded CFI an additional $90,000. "It is now February and we have started using that money, meeting with teachers and monitoring the projects closely. The next report will be in September, as projects need time to grow and develop.  I would take issue... we have reported."

Jerry Crisci stepped up next with an updated technology report. "The board's goal is for information, media and technology fluency for students," said Crisci. Technology has been growing in Scarsdale schools each year. The technology program has grown without increases in staffing and the technology program budget has been reduced without sacrificing progress. The technology budget includes administrative technology and audiovisual and technical services. A staffing proposal includes hiring one network specialist (as proposed but rejected last year following the defeat of the first budget.) There is a proposal for an additional $300 per month to significantly increase bandwidth. There is no net budget increase for instructional technology. The success of the fifth grade Chromebook pilot project has led to a proposal for elementary wireless installation, fourth grade Chromebooks, and computer lab upgrades. At the middle school, Crisci is proposing computer lab upgrades and increases in the number of mobile carts. The high school technology proposal includes upgrading the digital media lab, upgrading desktops, and adding mobile carts. Crisci's recommendations are:

1. Fund (within the lease/purchase budget) a complete elementary wireless project (approximately $300,000)
2. Replace network components with a bond or an increase in future lease/purchase budgets (at a cost of over $850,000).

He reminded the group that, "The technology platform is the learning platform."

During the discussion, Lew Leone asked if technology had facilitated savings and efficiencies in the school district as it does in the business world. Purvis said, due to technology "we are light years ahead for data and record keeping." Leone continued, "For example, can the teacher handle an additional kid in the class because of our investment in technology? We want it all. Is there a way to modify the tutorial system so that teachers can teach another class due to technology?" Crisci responded, "I understand what you are saying. Schools are highly regulated and structured in terms of what we can do. Education will be and is being transformed by technology." Lynne Shain said we have "many examples of enhancements due to technology that upgrade the whole operation." She continued, "Will we get to the point where students sign up for online courses, reducing the staff load? This is not going to happen in the next two years."

Dr. McGill added his thoughts on cost-savings offered by online learning at all levels. "Where could there be targets of opportunity? At the elementary school level, how many can see a meaningful way to educate elementary school children that does not involve an adult in the classroom with the kids? I can picture it but I am not sure I would propose it for Scarsdale. It takes us back to the SRA boxes. At the middle school we are required to have a certain number of hours, classes and tests. Do I want to see 12 and 13 year-olds doing computerized activities in the absence of teachers given the psycho-social issues of kids that age? I have a hard time picturing that. At the high school, we have had kids take online courses. We learned that kids don't stick with those, and the level of learning is not equivalent to a course taken with a real human being. I don't see models that would allow me to be confident in this." He recounted an experiment in individualized learning that the district undertook in 1939. After it failed he said, "The board determined that in the future it would study new perspectives but give way to the tried and true." He continued, "I am sympathetic. I would love to see the future. I haven't seen the future that works."

Mary Beth Gose agreed that elementary school kids need an adult in the room. However she saw opportunities at the high school for interactive online courses with accountability. Principal Ken Bonamo said that online learning works when there is a favorable student/teacher ratio of 1 to 20 as we currently have in the classroom. Dr. Joan Weber suggested that technology could be used to save funds for tutoring homebound students.

Next was a transportation update from Linda Purvis. She reported that 1,900 (40% of) Scarsdale students are transported by bus. Two-thirds of the transportation budget goes to sending 340 kids to private, parochial, or special education schools due to the number of different schools these kids attend. Purvis reported that the only budget request for transportation was for the purchase of three large replacement buses for around $100,000 each. She also noted "Bus purchases are outside the tax cap, as they are considered a capital purchase." Mary Beth Gose asked, "What's the life of a bus?" and Purvis responded, "Buses don't last as long as we'd like them to because of salt-induced corrosion. Big buses last longer than small buses, and we are really in need of 2-3 additional large buses." Gose added that she was concerned about safety and would therefore like to keep the request for three new buses in the budget, but Purvis said, "It's not as much a safety issue as it is an issue of too many buses expiring all at the same time. Two buses are having major, consistent problems, so we need two but would like to request three at this time."

Last, the session was opened up to community comments. Claudine Gecel from the Fox Meadow PTA spoke about class size. An informal survey at Fox Meadow showed that there were some classes already at maximum size and asked that the board consider that in light of the decision not to include an unassigned teacher in the budget.

Watch the entire session online on the Scarsdale Schools website here:

School Board Nominating Committee Seeks Candidates:

The Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) is seeking candidates for nomination to the Scarsdale Board of Education. In the next few weeks, the SBNC will nominate two candidates to the School Board. Jonathan Lewis has recently announced that he will step down this year and will not seek re-election to a second term. An additional seat is available to fill the position currently held by Sunil Subbakrishna, who is completing his first term and is eligible for re-nomination. The SBNC invites all residents to propose candidates for the Board of Education. A candidate must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, a qualified voter, and a resident of the Scarsdale school district for at least one year prior to the school board election date in May. Candidates should complete a biographical information form and submit it via email to the SBNC Chair, John Clapp, at sbncchair@gmail.com as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 PM on February 25, 2014. Forms are available at www.scarsdalesbnc.com. For more information on the SBNC, including the governing Resolution, information on the non-partisan system and a list of the current SBNC members, please visit the SBNC website or contact the SBNC Chair.