Budget Study Session #1: At 6:00 p.m., Mr. Dugan convened Budget Study Session #1. All Board members were present except for the student Board members, as well as Dr. Patrick and members of his Administrative Cabinet. Mr. Dugan noted that there will be two public comment opportunities during the Business Meeting for community members to speak about Budget Study Session #1, and he stated that the Board looks forward to community feedback and input throughout the budget process.

Dr. Patrick reviewed the focus of Budget Study Session #1, including the “Why,” “How,” and “What,” of the budget development process, the 2026-27 draft budget plan; and the next steps in the process. 

Mr. Lennon reviewed the 2026-27 draft budget plan beginning with the projected fund balance for the current year-end; fund balance history; tax cap calculations; summaries of the historical and projected revenues; the major budget expense drivers; and the 5-year capital plan. Dr. McIntosh, Nick Ferraro, Director of Facilities, and Nadia Pettignano, Supervisor of Transportation, presented the highlights and an overview of their portions of the 2026-27 draft budget plan. The slides of the presentation can be viewed here.

Board members presented questions that were answered by Dr. Patrick, Mr. Lennon, Dr. McIntosh, and Mr. Ferraro. The video can be viewed here.

Dr. Patrick emphasized that this is just the starting point and that much work will be done for the next iteration of the 2026-27 draft budget plan presented at Budget Study Session #2 on March 2nd.

Business Meeting: Mr. Dugan called the Business Meeting to order at 7:56 p.m., noting that all Board members were present, one student Board member (Jim Dugan, President; Colleen Brown, Vice President; Leah Dembitzer; Suzie Hahn; Robert Klein; Laura Liu; Amber Yusuf; and Lucy Eisenberg), and Dr. Patrick and members of his Administrative Cabinet.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Dugan reported that prior to the Business Meeting, the Board held its first budget study session for the 2026-27 budget stating that, “This first Budget Study presented our financial position on an actual vs budgeted basis for this year, as well as an overview of the major considerations and decisions to be made to arrive at a proposed budget for the 2026-27 school year. Thank you to Dr. Patrick, Mr. Lennon and team for all their hard work preparing the materials for this budget study.”

In closing, Mr. Dugan spoke briefly about the advocacy discussion that the Board will engage in later in the Business Meeting. 

Dr. Patrick added his welcome, and he announced that our Science Olympiad team placed first at the Regional Competition this weekend. He congratulated the students and thanked Nicole DeLuca, Kevin Viviano, and Jen Wagner for their mentorship of the students, and the entire Science Department and Chair Nicole Pisano for their support and inspiration. The team will head to Nationals at Le Moyne College in Syracuse in March.

Dr. Patrick also provided the following information and reminders:

• The PTC Wizard opened on Monday, February 9th, for online conference registrations and scheduling. Parents of elementary students can sign up through Sunday, February 22nd. 

  • March 19, 24, 26: In-Person K-2 Parent-Teacher Conferences (15-minutes)

  • March 24: After-School Gr. 3-5 Parent-Teacher Zoom Conferences (5-minutes)

• Entries are being received (until March 20 at 5 p.m.) for the Scarsdale Village Flag Design Contest, marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and the 325th anniversary of Scarsdale. Information is in the 2/6 Friday Five and on the Village website.

• As of January 30th, 117 Kindergarten students have been registered, with another 66 in the queue for processing. Kindergarten registration is still open and early registration is encouraged. 

• In closing, upcoming dates to note:

• February 16: President’s Day

• February 16-20: Winter Recess - Schools are closed

• February 17: Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival

• Ramadan begins at sundown on Tuesday, February 17, and ends at sundown on Wednesday, March 18. 

• February 18: Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Board members presented the following reports:

• Mr. Klein provided information on the Board Community Coffee that he, Mr. Dugan, and Ms. Liu hosted on February 4th and he encouraged community members to attend the next Board Community Coffee in the spring. 

• Ms. Dembitzer provided information on the Annual Legislative Breakfast that she, Ms. Brown, Ms. Yusuf, and Ms. Liu attended on February 6th with Assemblywoman Paulin, Regent Wills, Legislator Puja, Senator Mayer, and Mayor Arest in attendance. She thanked the PTC Chairs for hosting and the high school students for participating and presenting questions and topics relevant to our schools.

Ms. Eisenberg reported she attended the SHS Chinese Culture Club’s Annual Chinese New Year celebration on February 6th and enjoyed traditional dishes and dances. 

Cabinet Updates: Dr. Patrick introduced Cabinet Member(s) to provide the following updates. 

• Dr. McIntosh provided information about the next District Parent Elementary Math Fluency Workshop on Thursday, February 26th, from 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. at Quaker Ridge Elementary School; and a virtual meeting that will be scheduled at a later date for parent discussions. Dr. McIntosh also urged parents to reach out to their students' teachers with their concerns.

Hearing From Those Present: Community members were invited to address the Board. Nine people spoke in person and four people spoke remotely. 

Follow-up to Public Comment: Dr. Patrick thanked all those that spoke, especially the student speaker. He addressed the concerns that were expressed regarding the elementary math curriculum, saying, “I’m most optimistic about the fact that we share the same goal for our students to grow and learn. Our community knows that the process that we use for curriculum decisions is thoughtful, collaborative, purposeful, and with specific criteria. The ensuing work is designed to respond to student experiences -- learning, successes, gaps, and to make responsive changes.” Mr. Lennon addressed the comment related to the bond proposal and provided clarification on the tax cap and annual tax levy.

Written Communications: Ms. Brown presented the emails that the Board received from members of the community since the last report, as listed in the Board meeting agenda, all of which received a response from the Board and/or District administration.

Consent Agenda: The Board approved the items on the Consent Agenda, including the Personnel Report.