Friday, March 22, 2013

Board Closes in on 2013-14 Budget, Seeks Further Reductions

As the April date tor adopting a budget draws closer, the Board of Education is looking for additional ways to reduce the 2013-14 school budget without compromising educational quality.  President David Brashear opened the March meeting by thanking the community for  "a high level of engagement as we examined our expenditures from all angles." He reiterated the Board's commitment to fiscal restraint, noting that the extraordinary increases in mandatory pension contributions put the Board in "uncomfortable territory," but pledged to bring in a "reasonable budget."

Superintendent David Quattrone introduced the revised budget by acknowledging the savings stemming from a teacher retirement incentive and a multi-year voluntary wage/merit pay freeze offered by the administrators. He noted that the Board had successfully met tax cap requirements while still supporting such programs as elementary music, guidance services, and high school electives. Additional reductions, he said, should keep long-term  sustainability in mind (by managing the cap and allocating reserves, for example).

Assistant Superintendent Dan Carlin showed how the expenditure budget has evolved over the past several months. The initial budget was reduced by over $500,000 to $45.4 million. This budget increase of $1.2 million is almost entirely attributable to pension contributions. This revised budget generates a tax levy increase of 3.1%, slightly below the adjusted tax cap of 3.2%. Still under consideration are reductions in overall physical education staffing, across-the-board reductions in discretionary accounts, adjustments in the Middle School advisory program, and consolidation of world language classes with low enrollment. Private school transportation also remains a Board concern. Brashear asked the finance committee to explore these and other options as a final budget is prepared for adoption.

The budget presentation can be found here.

Visiting Committee to Review Critical Thinking Initiative

On May 1-3, the Bronxville School will host a visiting team of 18 educators from New York and Connecticut to observe classes, interview teachers and students, and review various documents related to the District's critical thinking initiative. On Friday morning, the visiting team will engage in dialogue with the staff and give informal feedback to the entire faculty. For this reason,  

SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, MAY 3 WILL BE A DELAYED OPENING, WITH ALL CLASSES STARTING AT 10 AM.

The Tri-State Consortium, a regional association dedicated to supporting high performing schools, is sponsoring the visit. Previous visits focused on science (2009) and mathematics (2005). The District's critical thinking goal is:

Bronxville students will produce high quality, original work that demonstrates the capacity for analysis, reasoning, problem-solving, and effective communication about complex, global issues.
The School is asking the visiting team to give us feedback on how effectively our curriculum design, assessment, and professional development contribute to that goal. Over the course of the school year the Elementary faculty has supported the development of critical thinking by using instructional practices that model and teach high level questioning /discussion skills, specific inquiry skills, and by creating opportunities for student choice and self-assessment. In grades 6-12, teachers have worked in department groups to develop assured experiences at each grade level and methods of assessing student progress.The next step in the process is to gather examples of student work and determine how well we are meeting our goal.

As in the past, the Consortium's final report will be made public.

Board Adopts Calendar for 2013-14



The approved calendar has a two-week vacation.

 After expressing concern about the late end to the school year, the Bronxville Board of Education adopted the 2013-14 school calendar as proposed, with a starting date of September 3 and an ending date of June 26. By state regulation, the first day of school for students may not occur earlier than Labor Day, and the last day of school is the established schedule for Regents exams set by the Commissioner of Education.  By law the school year must have a minimum of 180 days. Bronxville has 182 student days plus 3 conference days.

In 2013-14, because of the ways the holidays fall, the December vacation will last for two full weeks starting on December 23rd. The approved calendar can be found here.

Principal Searches Move Ahead

District administrators have completed the first phase of the search for two new principals. The initial step in the process was to develop a strong pool of candidates. In addition to advertising, candidates were recruited through various professional networks, including regional Superintendent groups, the Tri-State Consortium, and university programs. In addition, two parent volunteers helped pilot the use of LinkedIn as a way to expand the pool. There were 130 candidates for the Elementary principalship and 86 candidates for the High School principalship.

Superintendent David Quattrone, Assistant Superintendent John Kehoe, and PPS Director Rachel Kelly screened the applicants and interviewed the most promising. They have selected five semi-finalists for each position, all of whom have previous administrative experience.

The next phase of the process will take place in early April. Interview committees for each search have been named, including teachers, parents, Board members, and - in the case of the High School - students. Council and PTA officers are representing the parents.The committee's charge is to identify a group of finalists for further consideration. Dr. Rachel Kelly will chair the committees.

After the finalists are chosen there will be interviews, reference checks, and a site visit for the final candidate. The Board of Education will interview the recommended candidate, and the schedule calls for an appointment in April or early May.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Update on HS Principal Search

Since the announcement of Terry Barton's retirement last month, the search for a new high school principal has included advertising the position and holding open focus group sessions for faculty and students.  A summary of those sessions can be found here.  The importance of an open, friendly school climate was a consistent theme.

A similar open meeting for parents is scheduled for Monday, March 11, at 8:30 AM in the Fireplace Room.

Students, parents, and staff have an additional opportunity for input by completing an online survey, accessible here.  Individuals may prefer simply to send an email to the Superintendent of Schools.

The next steps in the process will be to review resumes, conduct initial interviews, and submit a roster of semi-finalists to a committee of students, parents, teachers, and Board members.  The schedule calls for an appointment in early May.

Board Seeks Additional Cuts but Supports Guidance, Music, and Electives

At its second budget workshop of the season the Bronxville Board of Education discussed a proposed budget of $45,454,556, representing a 3.21% tax levy increase, slightly under the allowable tax cap. After review, the Board pushed for additional reductions, but there was a consensus not to cut services or programs related to high school guidance, elementary music, or newly established elective programs.

President David Brashear opened the session by describing past efforts to bend the cost curve of the school budget, bringing costs more in line with the rate of inflation. Endorsing the mandated tax cap, he said, "The Board strongly believes  these budget measures are very helpful to long-term sustainability." The dollar increase in the school budget, $1,214,231, is almost entirely attributable to required employer contributions to the state teacher retirement system.

Assistant Superintendent Dan Carlin presented the 2013-14 budget, which was adjusted downward to reflect reductions in contracted services recommended by the finance committee.His presentation can be found here. Based on current information, he estimated that the tax rate would increase by 1.58%, reflecting growth in the total valuation of village property. On a property assessed at $1 million, this would represent an estimated increase of $226. The proposed budget includes an allocation of $950,000 in reserves, but that number has not been finalized by the Board.

After hearing a summary of impact statements regarding possible reductions, Board members expressed strong support for guidance services, elementary music, and high school electives.  A proposal to streamline modified basketball was quickly embraced, but there were mixed comments on the wisdom of touching clerical support in the athletics department. Private school transportation, a subject tackled in a fall workshop, was also raised again. The Board asked Superintendent David Quattrone to provide more information about positions vacated by retirement, the Middle School advisor program, and World Language courses with low enrollment. Quattrone mentioned that a clerical retirement incentive was also under consideration.

Thirteen members of the audience offered public commentary, including four high school seniors supporting the current level of guidance services. Other speakers mentioned private school transportation, class size, use of reserves, and Middle School programs. PTA President Helen Knapp suggested that the future will require some kind of paradigm shift in the delivery of services and that the PTA could play a key role in such a transition.