PTC Executive Committee and Budget Study Statement on the Proposed 2026-27 Budget for Scarsdale Schools

PTC Executive Committee and Budget Study Statement on the Proposed 2026-27 Budget for Scarsdale Schools

Tuesday, 24 March 2026 10:42

Last Updated: Tuesday, 24 March 2026 10:47

Published: Tuesday, 24 March 2026 10:42

Joanne Wallenstein

SHSTower March 23, 2026

On behalf of the PTC Executive Committee Officers, the PTA Presidents of the seven Scarsdale Schools, and the PTC Budget Study Chairs, we thank the District Administration and the Board of Education for scheduling this budget forum for the community to comment on the proposed 2026-2027 budget. Additionally, thank you to the leadership of the seven PTAs, school budget liaisons, and parents for their collaboration in this process. The PTC EC, the PTA presidents of the seven Scarsdale schools, and one of the PTC Budget Study chairs support the proposed 2026-2027 budget in order to ensure that our students thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

The proposed budget of $197 million is at the tax cap and represents a 3.37% tax levy increase. Using a median assessed home value of approximately $1,320,000 in Scarsdale and $1,971,000 in the Mamaroneck Strip, this is estimated to result in an increase in taxes of approximately $715 in 2026-2027 for median Scarsdale homeowners and a decrease in taxes of $1,116 for median Mamaroneck Strip homeowners. We recognize the challenges associated with prior and current inflationary pressures, particularly rising healthcare costs, on the school budget.

It is important to note that this budget does not accommodate key staffing recommendations proposed by the District, such as the initially proposed addition of a high school math Full Time Employee (FTE), the expansion of ICT to 7th and 8th grade, and the additional social worker support in elementary schools for the 2026-2027 school year. These are important priorities for the Executive Committees of the PTC and the PTAs, and we are hopeful that the District and future boards will continue to focus on these requests.

PTC Student-Centered Priorities

As PTC and PTA leaders, our focus is to support meaningful growth and development for every student. The PTC Budget Study Co-Chairs have endeavored to solicit parent feedback so that the school budget reflects our community values. We have invited parents to be engaged in the budget process via PTA newsletters and local social media sites, as well as the Budget Study Co-Chairs sending out Google Forms to encourage residents to pose questions and to share their feedback with the District, the Board of Education, and the PTC Budget Study Chairs.

With District data showing that 16% of math sections exceed 25 students, the previously proposed math teacher at the high school is an important staffing need. Additionally, at the middle school, we are concerned about the potential impact of the delay in hiring a Special Education FTE on student outcomes. Also, we are concerned that withdrawing the recommended social workers at the elementary schools is a lost opportunity for enhanced social and mental health support.

Overview of Proposed Budget

The proposed 2026-2027 budget presently totals $197,098,146, an increase of about $5.6 million, or 2.92%, over the current school year. This indicates a moderation in the rate of growth from the prior year; the 2025-2026 budget reflected an increase of 3.55% over the prior year's budget. The District is growing the budget more slowly in 2026-2027 than it did in 2025-2026, because it made about $2 million in proposed staff withdrawals and other adjustments to stay within the tax cap.

The overall budget trajectory continued to be influenced by contractual salary increases and rising benefits costs. The major projected increases driving this proposed budget include $2.8 million in health insurance costs, $3 million in salary and wage increases, $400,000 in Social Security and Medicare costs, and $1.1 million in contractual obligations including student services and insurance.

In the Scarsdale School District, property taxes account for about 92% of the district's revenue. While Scarsdale receives state aid and IDEA grants, these funding sources represent a very small portion of the district's total funding.

Macroeconomic Factors and Risk Mitigation

We are cognizant that macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges have caused inflation to be at a slightly elevated level relative to the Federal Reserve’s inflation goal of 2%, which impacts some of the District’s expenditures. Additionally, it is important to acknowledge that we are in a rising taxes environment due to the proposed Village budget, approved pool bond, as well as the proposed school budget and capital projects bond. We appreciate that the District cabinet members have met with members of the PTC and PTAs to answer our questions about the education objectives and the tax impact of this proposed budget.

As other PTC members in previous years have recommended, we encourage District cabinet members and future Board of Education trustees to maintain the unassigned fund balance at the 4% limit, which presently is projected to be about $8 million at fiscal year end June 2026.

Before the Board of Education votes on the budget resolution on April 13, taxpayers would benefit from the District creating a budget tax calculator to enable them to see the impact of the budget for their specific households and so that they have an opportunity to share any feedback with the Board. Additionally, now that the scope of the bond has been finalized and that this proposed budget is nearing its final stage, it would be helpful for the community to see an updated long term financial model that shows the next five years of planned sources and uses of funds and how they influence the projected operating deficit.

Concluding Comments

Thank you for taking parents’ and our feedback into consideration as you finalize the budget. We appreciate your focus on community engagement. We encourage the Scarsdale community to continue being involved in the budget process. We reiterate our support for this proposed budget and remind everyone to please vote on Tuesday, May 19 from 7am - 9pm at the Scarsdale Middle School.

See the entire statement and appendices here.

Signed by:

PTC Officers and PTA Presidents 2025-2026

Erica German, PTC President, 2025-2026

Rokaya Hassaballa, PTC President-Elect, 2025-2026

Shilpa Spencer, PTC Treasurer, 2024-2026

Jeannie Adashek, PTC Secretary, 2025-2027

Erika Rublin, PTA President, Scarsdale High School 2025-2026

Gina Chon, PTA President, Scarsdale Middle School, 2025-2026

Chelsey Mitchell, PTA Co-President, Edgewood Elementary, 2025-2026

Jackie Nimer, PTA Co-President, Edgewood Elementary, 2025-2026

Jess Rosenberg, PTA Co-President, Fox Meadow Elementary, 2025-2026