Scarsdale School Board Presents Ambitious Agenda for 2013-14

At their September 9th meeting, the Scarsdale School Board presented an ambitious plan to address the needs of the community and concerns expressed during the budget discussions in the spring of 2013. At meetings during the summer, the Board formulated plans to undertake several major initiatives to assess community views and do long term planning for the district. In addition, as Schools Superintendent Michael McGill will retire at the end of the school year, the Board has retained a search firm and defined the process to identify a new schools superintendent by March 2014.

To open the meeting School Board President Suzanne Seiden welcomed the community and urged wide-scale continued engagement. She invited everyone to air their views but also asked that the tone of the discussions be elevated. She asked people to be respectful and avoid side discussions during meetings.

Superintendent Search:
In order to identify a replacement for Dr. McGill a search firm has been retained to conduct a nationwide search to find a candidate who will provide leadership and enhance the school curriculum. As a first step, the firm will conduct focus groups with various members of the community on September 30 and October 1. In addition, a survey to assess the characteristics of the next superintendent has been posted online and the Board urges everyone to complete it. Click here to access the survey. Using the results of the focus groups and the survey the search firm will compile a profile for the new superintendent and then recruit and identify candidates. Following interviews and site visits, the Board plans to select the next superintendent by March 2014.

Strategic Plan:
In addition to the search, the Board will undertake three major initiatives. The first is a five-year strategic plan. To start the process, the Board will gather input from stakeholders in the community on their vision for the future and hopes to deliver their first report in January, 2014. Utilizing this information, the Board will do a five-year financial projection to allow residents to anticipate District plans and the associated costs.

Facilities Plan:
Also in the works is a facilities plan to explore options for maintaining, updating and improving district schools. Last year, in heated discussions about a proposal to build a new fitness room at the high school, residents asked for a long term plan for all construction projects and the board will now provide one. Architectural firms were interviewed during the summer and the public will have the opportunity to see presentations from the finalists this fall. Once a firm is selected, planning will begin with the goal of holding public discussions about a bond offering in June 2014.This bond offering would be voted on in November 2014. Given low interest rates and the retirement of current debt service the administration believes this would be an opportune time to undertake improvements to the facilities.

Revisions to Budget Process:
After the rancorous discussions last spring and the defeat of the first budget, the board has also decided to re-examine the budgeting process. Calling last year a "watershed year" for the schools, Board member Jonathan Lewis said that "the budget process needs to be more transparent," and that the district should consider "rebuilding the budget from the ground up." Given the constraints posed by the tax cap he believes the Board needs to look for ways to achieve their goals without spending more money. He called for the process to begin earlier, perhaps this fall and to evaluate how it can be improved.

Enrollment:
In other business, Joan Weber provided an analysis of school enrollment, reporting that the district now has 4,789 students and 448.6 faculty members. The district had projected 105 elementary school sections and currently has 103, though two grades in Edgewood and one grade in Greenacres have sections that include more than the maximum number of students. The population at the Middle School declined by 33 students, while high school enrollment is up by 80 students, due to an unusually large 9th grade class. Overall, the district is up 36 students over last year. The district tracked home sales in July and August and reports that during the summer months 127 families moved in and 60 moved out.

Facilities:
Linda Purvis said that the budget defeat in May set the district back on their plans to make improvements and renovate facilities during the summer. As they were not certain that funding would be available, they had to hold off on ordering materials.

Thus, the asbestos abatement was not done in the high school and the installation of new door locks from classroom doors that lock from the inside has not yet been completed. Purvis anticipates that all of the new looks will be installed in the next seven weeks.

The district also planned to relocate the office at the Greenacres School so that visitor traffic could be monitored from the office. That project had to be put on hold as the late bidding resulted in higher pricing. This project may be included in the bond referendum in 2014.

However, bathrooms were renovated at the Middle School and at Heathcote School and asbestos was removed from the Middle School. Roof work and masonry was done throughout the district. The high school cafeteria expansion was completed and another lunchroom for freshman has been set up in a gym.

Security:
The district has retained a security firm to staff three entrances to the high school. All traffic is directed to these three doors and all visitors are now being asked to report to the office. The new personnel are friendly and so far people are happy with the new procedure. There is also a greeter at the Middle School

Curriculum:
Lynne Shain, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, reported that the district continues to work on the Scarsdale Education for the Future and has designed assessments to measure critical thinking and complex problem solving skills. These assessments have been designed by grade and by subject. The project has excited much interest among educators who often request visits to see how their schools can follow Scarsdale.

In addition, there is a review of the K-12 physical education curriculum underway. The district is surveying parents, students and teachers and examining best practices.

Technology:
Technology Director Jerry Crisci reported that Chrome Book, which are pared down laptops, have been purchased for all 5th grade students. They are low cost laptops with no local storage capacity and are ideal for doing internet research and using google docs, google tools and learning circles. Chrome books will also be purchased for some students at the Middle School and teacher training is now underway to determine the best way to integrate the new devices into the curriculum. The Board approved $135,000 for the purchase of the devices.  Work continues on many of the projects funded through the Center for Innovation. An e-Journal showing progress on these projects will be posted online for your review.

State Test Results:
During the public comments section, comments were made about class size at Greenacres and state test results. The district said that they would mail out the results of the state tests the week of September 23, pending resolution of a reporting glitch from the state. Lynne Shain told the group that test scores were 30% lower than last year with more students scoring 1's and 2's than in previous years. Once the district is given the information to interpret the test results they will determine if students need extra support.