Scarsdale BOE to put $18.12 Bond Referendum to a vote in December

In just three short months of collaboration, Scarsdale Superintendent Thomas Hagerman and the Scarsdale Board of Education led by President Mary Beth Gose came to consensus on a decision to put an $18.12 million bond referendum to a vote in December. The unanimous decision by the Board was the culmination of several years of planning that involved a wide swath of the community including Board members, administrators, teachers, parents and students. Building committees were formed to prioritize building needs and to work with KG&D architects to envision new facilities at district schools.

The board agreed on a preliminary list of projects in the spring and continued to analyze it when Dr. Hagerman arrived in July. After building tours and additional meetings with the community Dr. Hagerman recommended a project list totaling $16.7 million in early September.

However, after input from the community, Hagerman asked the board to recommend approximately $1.3 million in additional projects that could be added to the bond referendum, as favorable interest rates make this an optimal time to borrow funds.

This new bond will replace retiring debt and should be tax-neutral. An analysis by Assistant Schools Superintendent Linda Purvis showed that at interest rates of 3.0% and 3.25% the debt service on the new bonds would be less than the debt service on the existing debt and would result in tax-savings.

The Board faced a statutory deadline and had to agree on the bond offering at their October 6th meeting in order for it to be put to a vote in December. At their October 6 meeting they quickly agreed to the $16.7 million project list that includes the following:

• District-wide replacement of technology infrastructure: $1.4mm
• Quaker Ridge: Replacement of Roof: $908,000
• Edgewood School: Replace and renovate the library, relocate the office, create small group instruction space in old office area: $3,560,000
• Heathcote School: New multipurpose room and entrance canopy. Small group instruction spaces within existing courtyard: $3,387,000
• High School: New Learning Commons with flexible seating and collaborative work spaces. I-Lab includes break-out rooms and instructional technology facilities: $4,691,000. Relocation of offices for physical education and athletics to facilitate creation of a Design Lab: $677,000
• Middle School: Addition of an orchestra rehearsal space and storage. Renovation of custodian's office to serve as new instructional music space: $2,097,000

Two additional projects at Scarsdale High School will be funded by the Scarsdale Education Foundation who will seek to raise $2.6 million of funding:

• Relocation of the fitness center to area below new gym
• Construction of new Design Lab in site of former Auto Shop

The  board then turned to a discussion about additional projects for the high school that could be funded in this bond. On the list were repairs and upgrades to the high school that had been cut from previous annual budgets due to financial pressure. If not included in the bond, Purvis said they would have been proposed for inclusion in the 2015-16 annual school budget but she thought it made sense to borrow to fund the work at favorable interest rates.

Proposed was the following work for Scarsdale High School:

Repair of courtyard behind the auditorium to improve drainage where standing water has created problems. The work will require excavation and the installation of new drains: Project cost: $400,000

New seats are needed in the auditorium as well as replacement of the house lights with LED lighting and the installation of aisle lighting. A new sound system will also be installed: Project cost: $600,000

In Gym B ventilation and lighting are needed. The gym is often used for testing and is poorly lit and gets very hot in June when students are taking tests inside. Purvis said, "it would be good to be able to breathe.": Project cost: $400,000

Hagerman told the Board that this all added up to more than $1.3 million. However Lew Leone pointed out that $18 million was not a fixed number. He said, "We will not know what the interest rate is until we sign. We are hung up on $100,000 – that's silly. We are getting a lot of bang for our buck. I recommend that we go for the $1.4 mm in projects." After some discussion, the full Board agreed to fund all the work and add approximately $1.4 mm to the $16.7 mm – bringing the total to $18.12 million.

As part of the process the board adopted a SEQRA Resolution that affirms that the building plan will have no significant impact on the environment, approved the resolution to hold the vote for the bond proposition on December 11 and approved an understanding with the Scarsdale Schools Educational Foundation.

Among the provisions of the memorandum with the foundation are the following:

Objective: After financial contributions for both projects from the Board of Education, consistent with any legal requirements related thereto, the net of funds necessary to construct the Design Lab is $1.8 million and the Fitness Center is $800,000.

Support: The Board of Education and District leadership support the Foundation as it launches a fundraising campaign for these two projects.

Donor Recognition: The Board of Education agrees to support an appropriate means of recognizing donors to the projects, within the Board's sole discretion and with the details of that recognition to be determined through mutual discussion.

Fundraising: The Foundation will make every effort to raise the needed funds as expeditiously as possible, but cannot guarantee it will be able to raise the full amount. The Board of Education understands that the Foundation anticipates receiving multiyear pledges, and that that will mean a significant portion of the funding provided may not be available until 2016 or later.

Responsibility: The Foundation understands and agrees that the timing, scope and implementation of these projects, including the development of related curriculum, remain the sole responsibility of the Board of Education and District staff.

Commenting on the agreement, Seiden told the audience that the board and the district will not actively participate in fundraising efforts, as they not legally permitted to do so. She said, "Even though the board can't support fundraising the board can provide facts and information to support fundraising – but not ask for funds."

Board members were all enthused about the decision to put the bond to a vote, which will be held at the Scarsdale Middle School on Thursday December 11 from 7 am to 9 pm.

Commenting on the decision, Board V.P. Leila Shames Maude said, "The process was not always neat and tidy – but we got to the best possible solutions for our children." Bill Natbony said, "The Board has shown flexibility and shown that we listen. I thank the community for their comments and I can't wait to see it come to fruition." Suzanne Seiden who served as the Board President last year said, "Thank you to the community, Russ Davidson, committee members and those who came to the discussions ... without all of your participation we would not have gotten to where we are today." Scott Silberfein said he was "very excited," and President Gose thanked Seiden "for a wonderful job last year." She added, " these are wonderful enhancements and much needed repairs. This investment in our facilities will outlast all of us. I strongly believe in them and support them."

Scarsdale Forum President Bob Berg who has criticized the board for overspending in the past indicated his support for a bond referendum of $18.12 mm. He said, "I am not know for asking the board to borrow more. But in this low interest environment I think we should do the additional $1.3 million in work. Breathing in the gym would be good!"

The only unhappy person in the room was Bob Harrison who threw what I can only call a temper tantrum about the board's new policy to post the meeting agenda and supporting materials online rather than print out reams of paper for distribution. All materials are now projected onto screens during the meeting to allow the audience to see relevant documentation. However Harrison, who often appears at meetings with stacks of paper that he leafs through and piles up on the floor was unhappy that he was not given copies of the materials to examine.

In a combative tone he said, "I value open government. I think the board has taken a step backward. I see no reason why we can't have the written information. I think you should be ashamed of yourselves! What are you hiding?"

Holding up a packet of paper from the Village Board meeting he threw it to the floor and said "Look what the Village gives out." Referring to the budget he said, "We have nothing to review! The process is just no open. We are busy people – we can't be prepared for tonight. We need information so we can make good decisions. Do we have to download your materials so we can attend your meeting?"

Gose was patient with her response and said, "We appreciate your advice. I spoke to the board attorney and we are the last district that has not gone to electronic communications. I appreciate your patience and tolerance while we adjust to the use of electronics. We are working hard to be open and transparent. ...The information is available online in a more readable format than it was before."

In other business the board voted to form a "Policy Subcommittee" Chaired by Bill Natbony with members Chris Morin and Scott Silberfein. The purpose of the subcommittee will be to suggest new policies (such as the communications policy) and make recommendations to the full board for review. Gose said "this will allow these discussions to take place outside of the full board meetings," though the subcommittee's meetings would be open to all.

The decision to move forward with the bond referendum was greeted with clapping and cheers from the audience. Many were gratified that the process to gain consensus was successful and were heartened that the community had come together to rally around continued investment in the schools.

Email from Dr. Hagerman:

Following the Board of Education meeting on Monday night, Superintendent Thomas Hagerman sent out the following letter in an email to the community:

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Like many others, I was extremely pleased by Board of Education's bond proposal approval. Although I have only been involved in our facilities work for a short time compared to many staff, parents, community and Board members, I am deeply invested in this work. As I mentioned in a recent Insight article, teachers are clearly the single most important variable in classroom learning; however, an environment that supports learning goals, fosters collaboration, and responds to changes in student and teacher needs is also vital. Today's dynamic classrooms must necessarily be able to serve as lab spaces, gathering spots, work stations, and research hubs—and these purposes are fluid, spanning a unit, a week, or even a single class period.

In a recent article in the Harvard Education Letter, Prakash Nair, a leading futurist and architect, wrote that, "The vast majority of our schools are designed as 'cells' and 'bells': Students occupy cells called classrooms until the bell rings, then they move on to another cell." As the article continues, Mr. Nair challenges us to think about 21st century learning skills where all spaces in a school are conceived of as learning studios, and clusters of these studios can be thought of in terms of learning suites. If this paradigm is used to shape our thinking about schools, we begin to break down the isolationism of individual classrooms and begin to envision a school that is flexible and adaptive, mirroring changing education pedagogy. As a case in point, many of our schools have maker spaces that occupy real square footage, but maker spaces also exist in other iterations, both inside and outside of traditional classrooms. Likewise, I believe that the proposed Learning Commons at the High School has the ability to transform learning by providing maximally flexible space for students to congregate, study, experiment, perform, and yes—eat. This is not only a reflection of best practices in 21st century learning, but preparation for future college and career—and life.

Although this process has been protracted and messy at times, so are some of the best recipes, stories, and experiments. In my humble opinion, I believe this has been time well spent. I am confident that we reached the right balance on this proposal with respect to balancing brick and mortar needs, programmatic growth and change, and our vision for design thinking and STE{A}M curriculum. I am also pleased that we have had incredible involvement and collaboration from students, staff, parents, and broader community. I would like to thank the Board of Education for their commitment to this work and the time and energy to bring this proposal to fruition. I would also like to offer my thanks to the many staff members and volunteers who have spent countless hours in preparation to move this important bond proposal forward to the Scarsdale community for a formal vote.

I encourage everyone to have their voice heard on this issue by voting on December 11, 2014, at Scarsdale Middle School, between the hours of 7a.m. to 9 p.m.

It is truly an exciting time for Scarsdale's students, schools and community.

In Service,
Dr. Thomas Hagerman