Community Speaks Out About Proposed $100mm Bond at Public Forum

After advocacy from the community, the Board voted to include funding for a $3.2mm turf field at Scarsdale Middle School in the bond.What do residents think about a proposed $98.6mm bond (now $101.7mm), slated for a vote in May 2026. The district invited speakers to offer comments on the proposal at their meeting on Monday February 2, 2026 and heard statements from school groups, including the PT Council, School PTA’s, booster organization Maroon and White and the Scarsdale Teachers Association. All voiced unanimous support for the bond, with some requesting additional spending for a turf field at Scarsdale Middle School.

Others expressed reservations, including the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, and individual speakers who questioned the district’s long term financial plan and the potential impact of the expansion of the district footprint and additional debt service.

Here are excerpts from a selection of the statements which all included thanks to the district, the board and the Capital Projects Committee:

Erica German and Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez said,“The Scarsdale PTC Executive Committee unanimously supports the proposed scope for the 2026 Capital Projects…. The proposed capital projects support the learning, health, and safety of Scarsdale’s children across all seven schools. These student-centered investments focus on enhancing districtwide learning spaces and essential infrastructure in ways that directly impact teaching and learning. By addressing both immediate facility needs including critical infrastructure, and long-term educational goals, including the creation of flexible, modern learning spaces, the projects help continue Scarsdale’s long-standing commitment to educational excellence.”

They made the following requests:
“- a publicly accessible tax calculator for residents to analyze the impact of the series of debt issuances on their household,
-a discussion of all associated operational costs that may arise due to the proposed capital projects,
-an analysis of the potential impact of the debt issuances on the annual budget, in terms of curriculum, student experience, and fund balance,
-a detailed explanation of the potential impact of the new debt issuances on the tax cap, and the timing of District revisions of the projected operating deficit given that the assumptions for the Long Range Plan were based on $40 million; presently the proposed debt amount is $98.7 million.”

Erika Rublin spoke for the Scarsdale High School PTA Executive Committee and said, “the current bond scope as proposed strikes a good balance with respect to needs across the district, and we encourage the community to support the proposed bond… In an ideal world with unlimited funds, we would love to see renovations to the high school classrooms and labs.”

She continued, “But were pleased that the bond:
-Includes air conditioning for Gyms A and B so that our athletic teams and PE classes can comfortably use those spaces.
-Updates our 3-D art space, a space that is no longer fully serving our students and is in desperate need of modernization so that we can continue to offer a wide range of art classes in our curriculum.
-Converts the Little Theater from a space that currently does not allow for instructional use into a flexible, multi-purpose space that will be usable for a wide variety of programming including testing and other curricular needs.
-Renovates the LRC to accommodate the growing number of students in the program.
-Creates quiet study areas in the library for our students.

However, they asked for the Board to include the SMS turf project that was in the originally presented bond scope. “Our district currently has only one turf field – Butler Field at SHS – that is shared by multiple athletic teams and is used by Scarsdale’s youth beyond the school sports teams. Playing time on that one turf field is severely constrained. An additional turf field will give our multiple high school and community sports teams the opportunity to practice for much more of the year. As we consider the wellness of Scarsdale’s youth, the additional turf field would support efforts to encourage our kids to get away from their screens and be active outside.”

Dorathy Sunshine and Jessica Rosenberg Co-Presidents of the Fox Meadow PTA– expressed support for bond and the $25mm in spatial improvements to the school, which they said “would benefit our entire ecosystem and provide “modernized learning spaces to address crowding and access, and “healthier environments” by providing air conditioning in the gymatorium. The called the bond, “a vital investment in the future of Fox Meadow.”
Heathcote PTA President Saum Shetty thanked the district “for recognizing the unique needs of the Heathcote School.” They are “grateful for air conditioning and renovation of our library.”

Jackie Nimer PTA President of Edgewood said, “We support the bond scope as necessary. Edgewood is already outgrowing its space. We added six students in the last 30 days. The space is not just about the square footage. Turning closets into learning spaces is not creative. When we are short on space, education slips and results in small compromises.”

Greenacres PTA President Liza King, said the Executive Committee “appreciates the bond and is grateful for community engagement.” They voiced “support for the scope and for air conditioning in the gym.”

Gina Chon, President of the Scarsdale Middle School PTA, spoke on behalf of the Executive Committee.
She said, “We are grateful that key improvements for our building—including the library renovation, cafeteria upgrades, and the installation of air conditioning in the library, cafeterias, and band room—are included in the scope of the capital bond. These improvements will significantly enhance the learning environment and daily experience of our students and staff.

…We understand that the turf field originally included for the Middle School was removed because the Village is exploring a potential stormwater retention and pumping system in the Sheldrake neighborhood, which would impact our school. We recognize that this effort could create an opportunity to pursue funding support from the Village and other sources in connection with a future turf field project.

Given the importance of this project to our school community, we respectfully request additional information regarding the anticipated timing, planning process, and next steps for the stormwater initiative, and how it may align with the district’s plans for a new turf field at the Middle School.”

Maroon and White Booster Committee expressed strong support for improving the fields and support for middle school turf in the current bond.

Joe Vaughn, President of the Scarsdale Teachers Association said, “The community values and supports education. This is an opportunity to invest in the future of the schools. STA stands in strong support of the student-centered bond.”

However, some expressed reservations

Dalya Kahn read a statement from the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

She said, “The League supports the proposed 2026 Scarsdale Schools Bond with reservations and commends the School Board and Administration for the bond development process.”

The League commended the district on open communications, responsiveness and transparency.

But she said, “While the League supports the Bond in general, the League has reservations about the scope and timing of the proposed expansion of Edgewood Elementary School, and encourages the District to consider deferring those plans until more certainty exists about the enrollment projections and increased class sections at the school. The League is concerned by the significant cost to taxpayers at a time that coincides with additional tax increases relating to the Village bond for the pool complex.”

They encouraged the District to do the following:

-Monitor interest rates and take advantage of favorable opportunities, including anticipated lower interest rates.
-Be sensitive to the tax burden on residents, including the tax impact of other Village projects, when deciding what to include in the Bond.
-Communicate plans for replacing the oil tanks at all seven schools over the next few.years pursuant to the District’s 5-year capital plan.

Rachana Singh had questions about finances. She said, “The district’s own Outstanding Debt and State Building Aid model shows two important figures that deserve to be considered together.

First, the Capital Vote Local Share represents the additional annual cost of the proposed bond that taxpayers would be responsible for each year after State Building Aid. Over the life of the bond, that local share totals approximately $120 million. This is not a one-time cost — it is a recurring obligation that becomes part of the district’s budget

Second, when this new obligation is combined with the district’s existing debt, the model shows a Proforma Local Share of approximately $167 million over the projection period. This figure reflects the total local debt-service burden that future budgets must absorb.

While the model highlights a single “peak” year, budgets are not experienced at a peak — they are experienced every year. A recurring local share of this magnitude increases the district’s fixed expenditures, reduces financial flexibility, and compounds over time under the tax cap.

If State Building Aid is reduced, delayed, or does not materialize as assumed, the local share increases immediately and permanently, widening the gap between recurring revenues and recurring expenditures. That gap can only be closed through higher taxes, reductions in educational services, or the use of fund balance.

For this reason alone, the Board of Education should undertake comprehensive long-term financial planning before approving the scope of the bond, so the district and community can fully understand how these recurring costs will affect future budgets, fund balance alignment, and overall financial stability.

The BOE can also advocate for the community by asking Bond advisors to model 2–3 options (e.g., minimal/essentials-only at $40M, moderate at $60–70M, full at $98M+) and share updated pro formas publicly via BoardDocs."

Jeff Ostroth called for a long-term plan. He said, “For the things we are not doing, when are we going to pay for them? The size of the bonds in 2014 and 2018 matched the debt rolling off. In 2014 there was a plan. I don’t know what comes next. Let the community know what’s coming.”

Claudine Gecel said, “Annual budgets have not been balanced without drawing down reserves. We are at risk of our reserves going away – and its serious. We can’t ethically make an informed decision about this without getting the information about balancing the budget. We have to pay for all of this. We can’t make an informed decision about these big projects until we see the everyday budget – and that it is balanced with what we have.”

Following the comments, the Board had a lengthy discussion about including funding for the turf field at Scarsdale Middle School. It had been removed, partially due to discussions with the Village that indicated they may install stormwater detention basins underneath the field. Until they are ready to move forward with the stormwater remediation plan, the district’s proposal to add a turf field was in question.

The board opted to add back $3.2 million into the bond, raising the total to $101.7mm. They plan to build the turf field toward the end of the cycle in order to coordinate with the village on the stormwater remediation plan.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Board voted to include an additional $3.2mm for a turf field at Scarsdale Middle School and appeared to be moving forward with the $101mm plus bond recommendation, with the next step being a SEQRA adoption on February 9, 2026.