LWVS Consensus Statement on the 2023-24 $177mm Scarsdale School Budget

(The following statement was read at the meeting of the Scarsdale School Board on March 27, 2023)
The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (the “League”) thanks the members of the Board of Education (the “Board”) and District Administration (the “Administration”) for participating in a panel at the League’s General Membership Meeting and School Budget Information Session and addressing questions on the Preliminary Proposed Scarsdale School District Budget 2023-24 (the “Budget”) and the proposed Scarsdale High School Auditorium Renovation Bond Project (the “Bond Project”) on March 22, 2023.

The following statement reflects the consensus of League members at a Consensus Meeting held immediately following the Information Session.

Positions

The League supports the Preliminary Proposed Scarsdale School District Budget for 2023-24 and recommends that, barring any significant revisions before its adoption by the Board of Education, the community vote “yes” to approve the final proposed Budget on May 16, 2023 at Scarsdale Middle School.

The League supports the proposed SHS Auditorium Renovation Bond Project and, barring any significant revisions before its adoption by the Board of Education, recommends that the community vote “yes” on May 16, 2023 at Scarsdale Middle School to approve the proposed Bond Project and to authorize the District to issue bonds up to the total amount of the Project.

The League offers its comments and recommendations regarding certain budgetary items as well as the budget process, which we hope will be considered as next year’s Budget is revised and finalized, and in future budgets. The League further offers comments regarding the Auditorium Bond Project.

Budget Overview and Noteworthy Features

The proposed Budget is $177,620,492, with a budget-to-budget increase of 2.59% and a tax levy growth of 1.93%. The estimated tax rate increase for Scarsdale homeowners will be 1.36%, and the estimated tax rate increase for Mamaroneck residents will be -11.26%.

-According to the Administration, the Budget accomplishes the following:
-Maintains high-quality teaching and learning
-Supports the continued study and development of DEI Initiatives
-Elevates District focus on the social emotional support of students
-Advances in-district instructional opportunities for students with disabilities
-Funds New Financial Accounting and Human Resources Software
-Improves and upgrades facilities with a focus on building infrastructure and funding for a shared Fields Study with Scarsdale Village
-Prepares the District for changes to our transportation system by funding a comprehensive transportation study

What is not included in the 2023-24 budget is also notable. The Board voted to exclude the Scarsdale High School Auditorium Renovation Project from the 2023-24 general fund budget in its entirety and present it as a separate voter proposition in May. Voters will have the opportunity to approve a $4,734,581 Bond Project that also authorizes the District to issue bonds for that total amount.

General Comments

The League acknowledges, with appreciation, the substantial time and effort that goes into
developing the proposed Budget and thanks the Administration and Board for their additional effort spent preparing for our March 22nd Information Session, including responding to our written questions and to the questions posed orally during the meeting.

The League also appreciates that the Administration continues to include League Budget questions and Administration responses on the District website as a public resource.

Comments and Recommendations

Budget Proposals and Proposed Reductions

The League appreciates the District’s disclosure of their organically and authentically developed first draft of the budget. The League further acknowledges the constraints placed upon the District by the state-imposed tax cap and appreciates the Administration’s efforts to prioritize expenditures that have the greatest impact on students’ growth and learning. The League acknowledges and appreciates the iterative process the District took to arrive at the current proposed budget, which included the presentation of multiple budget scenarios. The League encourages the District to ensure that proposed future budgets not only maintain Scarsdale’s long tradition of educational excellence, but also pursue forward-looking curricular initiatives and program enhancements that provide opportunities and environments to stimulate innovation, growth, and enhanced educational excellence for all students and faculty.

The League commends the Board and the Administration for their transparent and thorough discussion of the proposed budgets and, in particular, for the line-by-line analysis of proposed reductions. This transparency allows the community to better understand the Administration’s rationale and helps ensure a greater degree of confidence that the final budget represents the best balance between advancing the program and gaining taxpayer support. The League encourages future Boards to continue to evaluate and analyze proposed budgets in an open, thorough, and transparent manner.

Personnel and Staffing

The League commends the Administration for prioritizing the social emotional health of students and strongly supports the District’s plan to hire consultants to support elementary social emotional learning as a next step in the process of determining what longer term solution best serves the needs of that age group. As the Administration noted, its “capacity to support students in the ways we feel are necessary and beneficial has been outstripped by the needs students are exhibiting.” The League encourages the District to continue to prioritize the social-emotional and mental health needs of students.

The League strongly encourages the Administration to support continued education around mental health and learning disabilities, and more specifically, to encourage and incentivize faculty and staff to participate in professional development in these areas, including enrolling in relevant STI and ST@C courses. The League suggests that the Administration explore avenues to incentivize and attach greater weight to professional development classes addressing those areas to encourage greater participation.
Special Education

The League has consistently stressed the importance of supporting special education students in Scarsdale, which has only become even more important given, as the Administration explained, the “significant rise in the number of classified students and the intensity of student needs over the past 5-7 years.”

The League commends the District for advancing in-district opportunities for students with disabilities. Specifically, the League strongly supports the Administration’s effort to have special education students who are eligible for extended school year services stay in-district for the summer session instead of being placed in an out-of-district summer program. The League agrees with the Administration’s priority of expanding the continuum of services, in a financially sustainable manner, to educate as many students as reasonably feasible within our own programs.

The League appreciates the District’s recognition of the increasing demands on the chairpersons and administrators in the special education department. We recommend that the Administration continue to prioritize special education program review and expansion in future years to ensure that our special education students benefit from appropriate staffing and resources at all levels within the Scarsdale school system.

DEI

The League commends the District for its commitment to keep values of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the forefront of its programming, the curriculum, its outreach, its hiring efforts, and its planning process, and strongly encourages the District to ensure that DEI remains a consideration across all areas of Scarsdale schools. The League looks forward to the DEI survey being developed and encourages the District to be timely and transparent with the results of the survey.

Plant and Capital Improvements

The League acknowledges the completion of the Buildings Condition Survey, and urges the District to keep the results of the Survey and our aging facilities in mind as we budget for the future. We would like to reiterate from past statements that, given that several of our schools were built over a century ago, thoughtful, proactive facilities planning and capital improvement are of utmost importance to ensure that our buildings maintain and enhance student learning, and are safe, sustainable, and flexible enough to support 21st century innovation and future programs. The League also encourages the District to consider the current and future impact of climate change on the physical plant and on future infrastructure and capital projects.

The League appreciates the Administration’s recognition of a need to bring the Scarsdale High School building to a certain level of cleanliness and looks forward to the District’s re-assessment of such staffing needs in the future.

Facilities: Security and Sustainability

The League appreciates the District’s continued evaluation of safety protocols and priorities, including its decision to budget for the installation of door-ajar sensors in light of the Uvalde tragedy. We encourage the District to continue to implement security measures that incorporate best practices and also reflect and connect to the values of the entire Scarsdale community.

The League commends the District on its plan to proceed with a Behavioral Energy Savings Program and appreciates the District’s efforts to reduce its energy costs. The League encourages the District to consider other sustainability projects that would be beneficial to the environment, the individuals who use our buildings, and the physical plant.

Advocacy

The League commends the Board for its advocacy in conjunction with Scarsdale Village administration to address the persistent gaps in cellular coverage in the Village, including in and around our schools, which we view as an important safety and communication issue. The League strongly encourages the Board and Administration to continue to work closely with its Scarsdale Village counterparts to address dead zones in cellular coverage and also to be leaders in advocacy at both the state and local levels on issues that impact the Scarsdale schools.

Scarsdale High School Auditorium Project

As the League has previously noted, the auditorium renovation project was originally estimated to cost approximately $900,000 and was included in a bond proposal approved by voters in December 2014. Due to cost overruns on the 2014 bond projects, most of the proposed auditorium renovation was not undertaken. Since that time, the scope and projected cost of improvements to the auditorium have evolved into a $4.7 million project that addresses lighting improvements, an acoustical overhaul, seating and stage floor replacement, and renovations to the backstage and dressing room spaces.

The League commends the District for prioritizing this long-deferred but much discussed renovation through a thoughtful and open discussion, resulting in the decision to shift funding strategies from the annual budget to a bond. The auditorium is used by all SHS students, a significant number of high school parents, and various community organizations, and, when the project is completed, will benefit directly those students who are currently elementary and middle school aged. The League therefore understands and supports the Administration's recommendation and Board’s decision to bond the project, subject to a separate proposition in May at the same time as the school budget vote that asks voters to approve the $4.7 million project and to authorize the District to issue bonds for that total amount.

Budget Process/Community Engagement

The League appreciates that the Administration makes the Budget Presentations and Budget Development and Staffing Recommendations available early in the budget development process. The presentations allow a comprehensive view of the myriad components of the Budget and through them there is an enhanced understanding of the Budget itself.

The League commends the Board for recognizing the challenges faced by many organizations with a one-week turnaround between the last Budget Study Session and the Public Forum, and for adjusting the budget calendar for the 2024-25 budget season to allow for a two-week gap. This added week should provide slightly more time for the League and other community organizations to engage in a more detailed study and understanding of the preliminary proposed budget and greater opportunity for discussion in the formation of a consensus statement or other community feedback for the Board to incorporate into the final iteration.

The League thanks the Board for creating opportunities for public input into the budget at various points in the development process and encourages the Board and its Community Engagement Subcommittee to explore additional means and methods of expanding such engagement throughout the year. The League strongly encourages the Board to continue to work to be proactive and transparent to ensure community trust in the Board process.

We thank all members of the Administration and Board for consideration of our statement. The League looks forward to the release of the Board’s final Budget iteration resulting from having considered community comments.

Alissa Baum – President of the LWVS
Nan Eileen Mead – School Budget Portfolio Co-Chair LWVS