Legislation to Allow a District Health Reserve Fund Passes the State Assembly and Senate
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New legislation that will allow the Scarsdale School District to maintain a separate reserve fund for its self-insured health insurance plan has passed both the New York State Assembly and the Senate. The bill was authored by NYS Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and will be sent to Governor Cuomo to be signed into law.
A few years ago, the district's auditors had determined that the maintenance of the reserve fund was not in compliance with law. As a consequence the Board voted to drain the Health Care Reserve to all but a token amount in response to the auditors and a few residents who criticized the Board for maintaining the fund.
This bill makes clear that the District can keep its separate reserve fund which will enable it to mitigate the potential negative impact from large unforeseen health care claims. If the bill is signed into law, the district and its taxpayers will continue to obtain the significant stabilizing benefits of maintaining a reserve fund and be in a better position to manage yearly variations in claims against its self-funded health insurance program.
Commenting on the passage of the legislation, Assemblywoman Paulin said, "I know how important maintaining this reserve fund is to the district and its taxpayers. We know the reserve fund has resulted in the district saving millions of dollars since it was established. I'm pleased to have been able to help ensure its continued use."
Assistant Schools Superintendent Linda Purvis who worked with legislators on the new law said, "Our self-insured health care plan for employees has literally saved millions of dollars for taxpayers over the last 20 years. It would have been difficult to continue it without a rate stabilizing insurance reserve, so we are very happy at this outcome. But it's the taxpayers who should be happy, because it's their money. Many many thanks to Assemblywoman Paulin, who has been working on this doggedly for several years, and to Senator Stewart Cousins, who worked so hard to get it through the Senate. These two women are amazing legislators, and we are so lucky to have them representing the District.
Funding the reserve will be obviously difficult. We are basically starting at ground zero again. So we will await the Board's decision on if and how to fund it."
In 2013, Mitchell Gross, a critic of the health reserve fund, called it a "fictitious account" in violation of NYS law and charged the district with violating reserve policies which dictate that a district hold no more than 4% in reserve. He claimed the district had "failed to disclose these reserves" and called it a "material and serious violation" made by the district to "mislead and misrepresent the public to obtain a positive outcome on the budget." He conjectured that this "may constitute securities fraud" and "jeopardize the district's credit rating." He then asked for Dr. McGill's resignation, called for new auditors and asked the district to consider the consequences of a budget that is not in compliance with the law.
Though Scarsdale Schools Superintendent Dr. McGill did announce his retirement shortly afterwards, this new ruling vindicates the superintendent and the district and makes it clear that the reserve is to the benefit, not the detriment of Village taxpayers.
Pizza and Wine at Zachys Draws a Crowd at Zachys
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Over 300 people turned out at Zachys on a steamy Tuesday night to sample wines from South America and eat freshly baked pizza from the Cookery's DoughNation Pizza Truck. The truck pulled up in front of the store on East Parkway and chefs worked over the wood stove to make delicious varieties of pizza which was devoured with wines from Bodegas Norton and Concha Y Toro. We loved the Pisco 100 Punch, a blend of the Peruvian spirit Pisco 100 with pineapple juice and ginger beer. A light sweet drink for a hot summer's eve.
Conservation Advisory Council Recommends Mulching in Place
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The Scarsdale's Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and the Sustainability Committee of the Scarsdale Forum agree: the time has come for the Village to encourage residents to let leaves mulch rather than sweep them to the curb for pick-up. The CAC, which is an advisory board to the Board of Trustees, has produced a report advising them on options with regard to Village leaf collection, an activity that costs Scarsdale about $800K annually and requires over a thousand truck trips to distant disposal sites.
Years ago the Village composted leaves locally but this practice was discontinued after neighbor complaints. In recent years, "mulching in place", the practice of finely grinding leaves so that they settle into lawns and contribute back valuable nutrients, has taken root as an alternative practice particularly here in Westchester. Leaf mulching not only reduces the Village's cost of leaf collection but also the use of harmful (and increasingly banned) synthetic fertilizers. The Scarsdale Village Board adopted a Leaf Mulching Resolution in December, 2011. It has since begun to educate residents in leaf mulching, with demonstration projects held last year in Chase and de Lima Park. Mulching in place actually is an option that any lawn-loving suburbanite should love, as it can measurably improve soil quality beyond the "empty calories" of store bought fertilizers.
The CAC chose not to advocate a particular policy but to instead provide Trustees with a menu of options. Numerous communities nationwide were surveyed and contacted, including all municipalities in southern Westchester. The CAC found that basic options for Village leaf collection actually are few:
-Do not collect leaves, requiring residents to dispose of them through other means, such as landscapers.
-Collect only bagged leaves, much as the Village now collects other yard waste. About half of the communities in southern Westchester do not vacuum leaves, most recently Greenburgh, New Rochelle and Irvington. Reports are that the transition to bagging went surprisingly smoothly.
-Vacuuming, which is what the Village now does.
The alternative to any of these Village programs would, of course, be leaf mulching by residents. Recognizing that vacuuming is most efficient for homeowners, the CAC proposed various alternatives incorporating it: a gradual reduction in leaf vacuuming frequency so that residents could slowly adapt to other means of disposal and a leaf vacuuming fee that residents could avoid by bagging, having landscapers haul leaves or, most desired, mulching in place.
The CAC advocates that regardless of which option the Village chooses, leaf mulching outreach to residents be immediately stepped up. Its rationale is that as changes in leaf collection policy will increasingly make residents open to alternatives, they should be educated in advance about leaf mulching. The CAC has prepared a survey to gauge current resident leaf practices and interest; it will publicize this survey in the Fall.
The Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) is an advisory body to the Village Board of Trustees. The Council studies issues affecting the local environment and also maintenance of the Village's "natural" character. Issues may include open space, wetlands, trees, energy conservation, and other "sustainability" issues.
The CAC's leaf report is available here under "Exploring Leaf Collection Options".
Maroon and White Announces Spring Athletic Awards
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Maroon and White lauded senior spring athletes at their barbeque on Tuesday June 3rd. Many of the families who named the awards attended the ceremonies with multiple generations represented.
Here are the proud Scarsdale seniors who won the awards presented by Maroon and White Co-Presidents Kathy Coleman and John McCann:
What You Don’t Know About State Mandates Could Be Harming Your Local School
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Take, for example, the recently passed state "tax freeze" law to promote shared school services and/or district mergers. Don't know what this is or what it could mean for the quality of the Scarsdale Schools? Then click here to link to the Scarsdale Parent-Teacher Council Legislation Committee's webpage, where you'll find details of how the new statewide law could affect Scarsdale over the next few years, as well as links to related news articles and research on the supposed vs. actual cost savings to be found in district mergers.
Concerned about the prospect of Scarsdale merging with other districts? Click here for an easy step for all Scarsdalians to take to have their voice heard on this issue.
The State's new "tax freeze" legislation is only the latest in a growing list of Albany imposed challenges to the quality of the Scarsdale Schools. Such is the critical message the PT Council Legislation Committee has been trying to convey to the Scarsdale school community throughout the year, starting with its November presentation at the middle school, "Is New York's 'Race to the Top' Education Plan Dragging Scarsdale Down?" (Click here to watch the Video on Demand.)
To educate the public on how multiple state mandates, including those on student testing, teacher evaluation and new Common Core standards, are increasingly eroding traditional local community control over our schools, the Committee has developed informational webpages on these topics, along with a frequently updated page of suggested Action Steps for all community members to get their voice heard in Albany.
"For Scarsdale parents, it's no longer enough to know what's going on in your child's classroom and school," say co-chairs Nan Berke and Mary Beth Evans. "In order to support your child's learning, you need to be aware of what's been coming at us from Albany and to be willing to stand up for high quality education."
"In fact," the chairs add, "these issues affect and therefore naturally unite all stakeholders in the Scarsdale schools – parents, educators, and taxpayers." They note that a large percentage of the Scarsdale community still needs to be awakened to the growing burden of the State's costly, bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all "reforms" on Scarsdale's ability to maintain local school excellence. "To effectively protect Scarsdale educational quality," they stress, "it's imperative that the entire Scarsdale school community engage in state-level advocacy on behalf of our children." They see the planned restoration of the District's Legislative Advocacy Committee as an important step toward realizing this kind of broad community engagement.
