School Budget Passes by Big Margin

Written by Nicole Chi

The community approved the proposed 2009-2010 school budget in a vote on May 19. The 1.95% increase in the budget satisfied the wide majority of the community, as 555 people voted yes with only 167 opposed.

“I feel that the budget... was very well thought out. I thought that they were as fiscally responsible as possible, and I think the tax increase was minimal compared to what it could have been,” said SHS parent Geralyn Della Cava, who voted in favor of the increase. “I think they cut where they could and the changes they made didn’t impact the programs significantly,” SHS PTA President Liz Gruber agreed. The PTA had urged support for the budget in an e-mail to members.

Della Cava and Gruber both appreciated the chance for taxpayer input, as the Board of Education “gave us many opportunities to express our opinions and worked very hard to include the community in all of their decisions,” said Della Cava.

Because of the economic downturn, the school administration worked hard to hold down spending. “Wherever possible, the district tried to conserve cost by cutting non-instructional needs, [and] wherever possible, if there were retirements or people leaving their positions, we would not replace those positions,” said Principal John Klemme.

Superintendent Michael McGill provided an example of reduced spending, noting that the administration decided to postpone construction of a new fitness center at SHS. “By canceling that construction project as well as several others, we saved about a million dollars. That’s a million dollars that taxpayers won’t have to pay next year because we’ll have the saved money as income,” said McGill.

Both Klemme and McGill expressed concern about the following year’s budget. “The reason the 2010-11 school year will be such a difficult year is that with the economic down-turn, the pension fund for teachers—which was heavily invested in the stock market—took a real beating,” said Klemme. The district will “have a very large amount to pay—and it will be millions of dollars—for the teacher’s retirement fund” to make up for the shortfall, said President of the Board of Education Linda Chayes.

As a result, pressures on the school budget may be even more dramatic next year, and the increase may be significantly higher. “That… is going to have some impact on instructional services. I don’t know what form it will take at this point—we hope that no one has to be laid off—but that will be a real challenge next year,” Klemme said. “You can’t go to the voters and ask them, in very difficult times, to accept, for example, a 10-11% tax increase.”

McGill noted that some people in the community complained about the minimal budget increase this year. “A lot of people in the community who value what we have done-but some feel we can do what we're doing, only cheaper,” McGill said. “So it's going to be very important over the next 10 months or so for us as a community to think over what it is that we value. The budget for 2010-11 has to reflect the kind of program Scarsdale wants for itself for not only the next year, but for the next several years,” he said.

PTA Vice-President Alice Herman looks at the situation for next year optimistically. “I think the board—and the community—realizes that education is the number one draw to Scarsdale. Nobody wants to do anything foolish or hasty to diminish the education our children receive or to diminish our property values,” she said. Gruber agreed, “Nobody wants a high increase in the budget, but everybody wants the best in our schools. And I think that’s the goal of the administration and of the board of ed—to maintain the quality of education.”

Already, the process for next year’s budget proposal is beginning. At a community meeting at SHS on June 17, McGill will talk to community members to receive feedback about what they feel are the most important elements in preserving the quality of education in the district.