Bob Harrison Candidate for Scarsdale School Board

Bob Harrisson is an independent candidate for the Scarsdale School Board. Here are Bob's credentials: Bob Harrison is a candidate for the Scarsdale School Board for the seat of outgoing board member, Jeff Blatt . In Scarsdale you must run for a specific named seat. Mr. Blatt's open seat is for a 3-year term. By law each candidate must submit a petition signed by at least 25 qualified voters to appear on the ballot. Bob Harrison's candidate petition was signed by 67 qualified Scarsdale voters. His opponent filed her petition with 32 signatures. Bob encourages Scarsdale residents to vote for his candidacy on May 18th.

Bob Harrison's campaign is to maintain and improve the quality of our Scarsdale School system at an affordable tax rate. Bob has given 30 years of service to the Scarsdale community and our students including raising $25,000 to restore the Middle School Tennis Courts in 1983 which has allowed the programming of the Scarsdale Spring and Summer Youth Tennis Leagues that have served over 18,000 youths, allowed for tennis in the physical education program of every Middle School student, given Scarsdale Village the courts to have a major revenue producing lesson program for adults and youth and allowed families to enjoy the sport of tennis. Bob has personally coached over 60 youth sports teams since 1983.

Bob was a founding board member of the Scarsdale Teen Center and helped raise $250,000 to invest in the Teen Center. Bob served on the Adult Teen Center Board for seven years as first vice-president and financial advisor. Bob continues to support fund raising for the Teen Center and strongly believes that the School Board should maintain its commitment to funding the Teen Center jointly with the Village Board and restore the $ 12,500 to the Teen Center Budget from the $ 134,743,938 proposed 2010-2011 total School Budget. Bob also feels that the BOE should restore the $13,000 that was cut from the school budget to the Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service, that is also funded by the Village Board.

Bob has a long-term record of being pro-education, pro-students and pro-Scarsdale. He has helped 19 students fulfill their dream of attending Penn State University as a volunteer alumni recruiter since 1991.

Bob has supported smaller class sizes in the elementary schools with public comments and a letter to the editor. Bob helped the school board review the insurance industry it its move to a self-insured health plan in the 1980's and served on the school board's technology study committee in the 1990's and was the SNAP representative to the board in its superintendent search in the 1980's.

Bob has been a supporter and contributor to Field For Kids at the High School, the SOS4 Education Campaign after Hurricane Katrina, the Scarsdale Family Counseling Service, and the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps new building among many other Scarsdale community efforts. Bob has been an active supporter of the Wall Street Division of the UJA Federation of Greater New York since 1968.

Professionally Bob has a 43-year career in business and finance, which includes an MBA in finance and marketing from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business where he is actively involved with the Business School. He has a B.S. from Penn State where he is involved with the Smeal College of Business and has given a number of speeches to business school students. His professional experience includes being a Vice-President of Goldman, Sachs for over 28 years from 1966 to 1995, working in the same team of professionals plus assistants for 20+ years serving the financial needs of institutional and private wealth clients of Goldman, Sachs in the New York City Area , upstate New York and eastern Canada.

For the past 15 years he has had his own firm , Harrison Capital Management, with an office in Greenwich and more recently in Scarsdale providing professional money management advice to his past clients from Goldman, Sachs as well as new clients.

Bob's 43 years of professional business and financial experience including the analysis of school budgets, corporate financial reports, earnings reports, interest rate trends and municipal finance would help the school board make sound educational and financial decisions for the future.

Bob has a vested interest in Scarsdale schools with two sons who went through grades 1 to 12 and K to 12 of Scarsdale Schools and two grandchildren living in Scarsdale who Bob wants to benefit from an excellent Scarsdale education. Bob wants young families of different means to be able to afford our property taxes and to maintain a diverse community and to keep our long-term residents here with their wisdom and memory for Scarsdale.

Bob has been a member of the Town and Village Civic Educational Forum since 1986 and served on its Educational Study committee and as a past Co-Chairman. Bob has served on many TVCC committees including the current TVCC Education (Fiscal) Committee report on the proposed BOE 2010-2011 budget that was worked on for many months by a number of people and signed by 12 people including two highly respected past Mayors and approved by six members of the TVCC executive committee. The report has significant reservations about use of reserves, order and timing of facilities projects, multi-year contract extension with teachers and multi-year no layoff clause, multi-year contract with bus drivers with no outsourcing clause, changes to teacher work loads, and changes in teacher headcount funded by federal stimulus money that may extend beyond the expiration of that funding.

Bob encourages every Scarsdale resident to read the TVCC budget report at www.scarsdaleforum.com or to contact him for information about his candidacy or the report at 914 725-0962 or by e-mail at proscars@aol.com