Scarsdale Snow Poem and Snow Photos
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More snow in Scarsdale and school is closed again! How deep is the snow and how many school days have been missed? We have lost count but will find out and let you know.
Spring is just a few weeks away but there's no sign of daffodils or crocuses buried deep beneath the ice. Mounds of packed snow may take weeks to melt.
Here's a poem from Scarsdale's own Deborah Skolnik from her Facebook Page, Gentle Scarsdale Satire - (search for it on Facebook, request to be added and you'll be promptly approved.) In less than 2 weeks the page has grown to more than 300 local residents, amused by its slyly humorous daily verses.
Darn You,Snow!
Snow, you're like
a bad boyfriend.
This abusive relationship
has to end!
At first you were charming
and I was excited.
But now you're a stalker,
showing up uninvited.
Whenever you come here,
you just bring me down.
I fell on my tushie
in front of C-Town!
You're a bad influence
on the whole neighborhood.
The Abominable Snowman
bought a ranch in Edgewood.
And Quaker Ridge Quakers
have become Eskimos.
Fox Meadow foxes
are stuck on ice floes.
At Heathcote's five corners,
that car-clogged disgrace,
the slow traffic light
is MORE glacial in pace!
And here in Greenacres
there's been nothing green
since about two weeks
after last Halloween.
You need therapy, snow.
There's no give and take.
You always act cold
and you're always a flake!
And you're turning grey, too
you sad, aging fellow.
(Even worse, in some places,
I fear you've turned yellow.)
I'm dumping you for Spring, snow.
You've got awesome powers,
but Spring knows what I want--
Spring brings me flowers.
Due to the bad weather, here are a few closings and re-schedulings:
The Maroon and White celebration, originally scheduled for Tuesday March 3rd has been rescheduled for Thursday March 12 at the high school cafeteria at 7:30 pm. Seniors should arrive by 6:30 for photos.
At Hitchcock Church, the school and office are closed, Living in America Classes are cancelled and the Lenten Organ Recital and luncheon are postponed.
All classes and program at the JCC of Mid-Westchester are cancelled for today.
The screening of the film "Garwin" scheduled at the Scarsdale Library tonight has been cancelled.
Here are some snow photos from around town. Send your snow day photos to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com and we'll post them on the site.
News from the Scarsdale Bowl, Concordia and the Scarsdale Forum
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Invitations Out for the Scarsdale Bowl
The entire Scarsdale community is invited to attend the Scarsdale Bowl on Wednesday, April 22nd at The Fountainhead in New Rochelle, NY. Pictured above are members of the Bowl committee and trustees of the Scarsdale Foundation preparing invitations which will arrive in mailboxes soon in March. This year the Bowl, which celebrates volunteerism and community, will honor former Mayor Peter Strauss. To RSVP and pay online, visit the Scarsdale Foundation website.
Photo credit: Karin Garvey
Concordia Summer Camp Now Accepting Registrations
Concordia Summer Camp offers an exceptional summer experience for children! Located at Concordia College in Bronxville, the camp has been running for over 30 years and is known for their impeccable safety record and extraordinary programs.
New this year, campers can enjoy Water Inflatables every Friday.
Programs are offered for early childhood campers ages 3 to 5 as well as grades 1-9. Programs include Enrichment, Music and Art Programs: forensics, cooking competitions, art, music, robotics, improv, cyberspace, science, literacy, web-page design and blogging, chamber music, band bash, piano, violin, guitar, musical theatre, vocal arts, songwriting and composition, and much more. If sports is your interest, Concordia offers the Slam Dunk Basketball Camp as well as a general Sports Program where campers are rotated through a whole variety of sports.
Concordia Summer Camp offers two 3-week sessions from June 29 to August 7 as well as pre and post camp programs (June 15-26 & August 10-21). Services and discounts offered include early drop-off and late pick-up, sibling, bundle and early-registration discounts, online registration, morning/afternoon snacks and beverage, as well as lunch for all afternoon programs which is included in the cost of the program.
Attend an open house on Sunday March 8th at 2 pm. For more information, visit www.concordiasummercamp.org or call 1-914- 395-4848.
Richard Garwin to Speak at Sunday Speaker Series
Internationally renowned physicist and Scarsdale resident. Dr. Richard Garwin will present a lecture titled "Nuclear Energy – Electrical Power and Vastly Destructive Weapons," as part of the Scarsdale Forum's Sunday Speaker Series on Sunday March 8 at 3 pm at the Scarsdale Women's Club.
Garwin is the winner of the National Medal of Science in both the fields of Engineering and Science and is the author of the design used in the first hydrogen bomb. He has served every U.S. president from Eisenhower to Obama. Dr. Garwin's lifelong commitment to such projects as Global Warming, Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Disarmament, and Energy are unparalleled.
Dr. Richard L. Garwin received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1949 under the sponsorship of Enrico Fermi. He has worked in particle physics, nuclear physics, solid state physics and in a wide range of technology such as air traffic control, satellite communications, satellite navigation, touchscreens, laser printers and magnetic resonance imaging. While working at the IBM Research Division at Columbia University, Garwin served as a consultant at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory where he provided the design for the first thermonuclear weapon test (the hydrogen bomb) at Eniwetok on November 1, 1952. Garwin has advised the United States government on many aspects of nuclear power including the disposal of spent fuel. The winner of the National Medal of Science and a prolific author (see: www.fas.org/RLG/), Dr. Garwin is the subject of a documentary which will be shown at the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Public Library on Thursday, March 5 at 8:00 PM.
Fun for All at the Scarsdale Forum Winterfest
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The Scarsdale Forum held an "indoor block party" at its seventh annual Winterfest on February 7 at the Scarsdale Woman's Club. The event featured home-brewed beers crafted by Forum member Bruce Wells as well as a buffet dinner prepared by Jensina Olson. Local bakers contributed delicious desserts. A convivial night for all.
Adult Softball and Village Election
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Sign up for Adult Softball League:
The Scarsdale Recreation and Parks Department is looking for teams for its 2015 season. Games played on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 PM. The season runs from June 2 to August 15. If interested, please contact Rich Massaroni at Scarsdale REC @ 914-722-1160.
Register to Vote in Village Elelction:
The Village of Scarsdale will hold an election for Mayor and Village Trustees on Wednesday March 18th. All Election Districts will vote at Scarsdale Village Hall. Hours of the election are 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and Noon to 9 p.m.
If you are not a registered voter but want to vote in the Village Election on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, the last day to register with the Westchester County Board of Elections is Friday, March 6th. You may pick up a mail-in registration form at Village Hall, or you may go directly to the Westchester County Board of Election, 25 Quarropas Street, White Plains.
In order to register to vote, you must:
• Be a U.S. Citizen
• Be 18 years of age by the date of the election in which you want to vote
• Live at your present address at least 30 days before an election
• Not be in jail or on parole for a felony conviction
• Not claim the right to vote elsewhere.
For registered voters who will be out of Westchester County on Village Election Day, an absentee ballot can be obtained by filling out an application form at Village Hall or by requesting one by phone or mail. March 10th is the last day for the Village Clerk to receive an application for an absentee ballot which is to be mailed to a qualified voter; however, applications made in person can be accepted until Monday, March 16, 2015.
For more information, call the Village Clerk's office at 722-1175.
Budget Process Begins: School Tax Estimated to Rise by 2.64%
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The Scarsdale Schools administration unveiled their initial budget estimate for the 2015-16 school year and the good news is that the current estimate will require a 2.64% tax increase for Scarsdale and Mamaroneck strip residents, which is .29% below the allowable tax cap of 2.93%. Purvis told the Board that the school budget has been rebuilt from the ground up, and included some organizational changes, restructuring of the leadership of the athletics program at the high school, two new reading specialists for the elementary schools and delaying the start of Spanish language instruction to second grade rather than first grade.
As school enrollment drives the budget, Assistant Superintendent Joan Weber reported that demographers estimate that there will be a 1% decrease in student enrollment or 47 fewer students for 2015/16 over 2014/15. She noted that the incoming kindergarten class is projected to have 313 students, which is 44 less students than the outgoing high school class.
She provided the following estimates for the number of projected students and classes at each of the five elementary schools:
Schools Students Sections
Heathcote 392 students 19 sections
Greenacres 399 students 22 sections
Edgewood 401 students 20 sections
Fox Meadow 462 students 24 sections
Quaker Ridge 466 students 26 sections
Overall, Weber projects a decrease in 2 elementary schools sections from 107 sections this year to 105 next year. In the next four years, the demographer estimates that the school population will decrease by three tenths of a percent.
Among the proposed staffing changes in the plan, is combining the current positions of athletic director and physical education coordinator at the high school into an administrative job with responsibility for athletics, physical education and health.
There will also be changes in the technology area with the assignment of a director of information systems and other staffing adjustments. Details will be provided at the next budget study session on Monday February 9 at 6:30 pm. The technology department of 16 people would all be housed in one office. There will be an overall increase in .05 positions in civil service staff to add a director of information technology and an administrator to oversee the audiovisual program.
At the elementary schools, due to the reduction in enrollment, one less classroom teacher would be needed. The administration is proposing a delay in the commencement of Spanish instruction from first grade to second grade, and the addition of an ELA helping teacher and 2.5 reading teachers to help first and second graders who are struggling with reading. According to Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shain, the district "Wants to have more time to deliver literacy instruction in English – kids first language. We looked at the first grade Spanish program and decided to take Spanish instruction out of grade one to allow us to pick up two forty minute periods a week to focus on literacy learning."
At the middle school, an additional special education teacher is needed for the parallel curriculum students.
Reviewing the central administration and facilities budget, Linda Purvis highlighted line items that changed over the previous year.
She said that the administration would like to reinstate a reserve for tax certiorari claims and a reserve for emergency repairs which were both eliminated in previous budgets.
The district has seen a big increase in utility costs for both electricity and heating and projects a $190,000 increase for electricity and a $108,000 increase in heating costs.
The district's phone system is antiquated and the service provider will phase out the service of the phone system that is also tied into the paging system. Purvis estimates that the new system could cost $300,0000.
Purvis then reviewed almost $1.9 mm in proposed plant improvements to the district's facilities:
Edgewood: Repair of drainage near the oil tank $65,000
Fox Meadow Playground Equipment $95,000 (she indicated that the previous board made a policy decision to fund playgrounds rather than ask the PTA's to raise money to do it.)
Re-orientation of the school office to provide additional security $395,000
Heathcote: New fire alarm: $280,000
Middle School: Replace and relocate tech room dust collection system: $70,000
Highs School: Renovate Dean Field: $270,000 to address ruts, depressions in the ground, drainage issues, and fence repairs
Paint exterior trim $80,000
District wide roof repairs $300,000
Upgrade ventilation and renovate district technology office $240,000
Drainage/paving bus compound $100,000
Purvis noted that the facilities budgets represents less than 1.3% of the total district budget. The National School Board Association recommends that school boards spend 2% on building maintenance and repairs.
Watch the budget study session on the Scarsdale Schools website here. The next budget study session will be held on Monday February 9 at 6:30 pm at Scarsdale High School.
