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Public Hearing: At 6:02 p.m., Ms. Hahn convened a Public Hearing to hear comments from community groups and individuals on the revised District-Wide Safety and Emergency Management Plan, noting that all Board members were present as well as Dr. Patrick and members of his Administrative Cabinet. Mr. Rauschenbach reviewed the revisions to the Plan, which was posted on the District website for the past 30 days for public comment.
Ms. Hahn opened the floor to public comment. No one spoke in person or virtually.
Business Meeting: Ms. Hahn called the Business Meeting to order at 6:06 p.m., noting all Board members were present, including the student members (Suzie Hahn, President; Colleen Brown, Vice President; Leah Dembitzer; Jim Dugan; Laura Liu; Omer Wiczyk; Kevin Ziegler; Lucy Eisenberg; and Nathan Goldfarb). Dr. Patrick and members of his Administrative Cabinet were also present.
In her opening remarks, Ms. Hahn welcomed all in attendance and, on behalf of the Board, acknowledged and thanked District administrators, teachers, and staff for all of their hard work over the summer months preparing to welcome students back to school next week.
Ms. Hahn also extended a warm welcome to the student ex-officio Board members at the Board table —Lucy Eisenberg, returning for her second year and new member, Nathan Goldfarb.
Ms. Hahn reported that the Board took advantage of the summer months by participating in new and continued training as well as summer group work that will be detailed later in the meeting. She also reported that she and Vice President Brown had the pleasure of welcoming new teachers at the New Faculty Orientation, noting, “One couldn’t help but feel excited for the new school year meeting all our new teachers and administrators. Much of what makes our District so special is the onboarding, mentorship, and professional development provided to our faculty and staff. This process began today for our new teachers and will continue for all faculty and staff Wednesday and Thursday during full-day conference days. We look forward to seeing everyone at Wednesday’s Convocation ceremony that kicks off the new school year for our faculty and staff.”
Dr. Patrick added his welcome and appreciation to those who took the time to join the summer Board meeting; and he echoed Ms. Hahn’s words of welcome to Ms. Eisenberg and Mr. Goldfarb.
Dr. Patrick also noted all of the work that has been happening behind the scenes this summer including a long list of projects completed by our facilities team; the District’s support staff’s critical summer work, including student enrollment and welcoming new families; Scarsdale teachers collaboration on hundreds of program improvement initiatives; and the first day of Faculty Orientation held earlier in the day. Dr. Patrick thanked Dr. Troy and her team for creating a warm and purposeful welcome to our new faculty.
In closing, Dr. Patrick noted that the District Convocation will be held on Wednesday, August 26th, marking the formal start of the new year and he also noted upcoming key dates:
9th grade, A-School, and new student orientations for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders new to the District are scheduled at the High School on Thursday, August 27th We welcome all students back on the first day of school, Tuesday, September 1st We are closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 7th
Board members presented the following reports:
Student Board members presented the following reports:
Ms. Eisenberg reported that Freshman and new SHS student orientation is scheduled for Thursday, August 27th. Mr. Goldfarb reported that the SHS Welcome Back BBQ will be held at the High School on Tuesday, September 1st, from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Cabinet Updates: Dr. Patrick introduced Cabinet Members to provide the following updates.
Human Resources: Ms. Troy welcomed and introduced the new faculty appointments on the Personnel Report. Technology: Ms. Crowley provided valuable information for parents and guardians related to ParentSquare account activation; email and account access for SMS and SHS students and account support; back-to-school scams and phishing reminders and a new District webpage on How to Spot and Report Phishing; and she thanked the community for their efforts in this work. Speaking as the Data Protection Officer, Ms. Crowley reported that there have been no further incidents concerning compromised data since her last report in February. Curriculum and Instruction: Dr. Patrick provided an overview of the ongoing work that has gone into the reworking of the District’s teacher supervision and evaluation model—STEPS (the Standards-based Educator Evaluation and Professional Support Plan); and the background of the previous system used—APPR (the Annual Professional Performance Review). Dr. McIntosh and Dr. Troy provided further information on STEPS, the development process, including the feedback that informed the process; and when the plan will be formally introduced to the faculty. Dr. Patrick noted that later in the meeting, revisions to Articles in the STA contract, as a result of this work, will be reviewed and presented to the Board for approval. Business/Facilities: Mr. Lennon reported that the District’s External Auditor, PKF O’Connor Davies, completed their field work review earlier this month. He thanked Ms. Zareski and the Business Office team for the successful implementation of nVision which ensured full audit readiness. The Audit Report will be released to the Board and community in October.
Hearing From Those Present: Community members were invited to address the Board. Four people spoke in person and three people spoke virtually.
Follow-up to Public Comment: Ms. Hahn thanked the speakers for their valuable input. Dr. Patrick noted that the draft Guidelines for Student Expression at School-Sponsored Activities will be discussed later in the meeting.
Written Communications: Ms. Brown reported the Board had received (9) emails 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.
INFORMATION/DISCUSSION
ACTION ITEMS |
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Information Items/Discussion: The Board considered several items under the information/discussion portion of the agenda:
Ms. Zareski presented the Treasurer’s Report and Schedule of Investments for June 2026. In accordance with District Policy #6150, the Board of Education must approve all transfers of funds in excess of $25,000. Ms. Zareski presented the budget transfers for June 2026 that will be presented to the Board for approval later in the meeting. Dr. Patrick provided a brief background for the 2026-27 stop-loss insurance renewal and introduced Dustin Kuehn, Senior Benefits Consultant from Gehring Group. Mr. Kuehn provided a brief presentation explaining the process and recommendation for the District to purchase the SunLife policy with a $300,000 specific deductible. Board members asked questions that were answered by Mr. Kuehn and Mr. Lennon. The policy renewal will be presented to the Board for approval later in the meeting. Dr. Patrick provided an overview of the new STI course proposals for the fall semester as well as repeat course proposals. The courses will be presented to the Board for approval at the September 14th Board meeting. Dr. McIntosh answered questions asked by Board members related to the courses offered and their connection to the Strategic Plan. Dr. McIntosh presented the proposed new textbooks for 7th and 8th grade students. The books will be presented to the Board for approval at the September 14th Board meeting. Dr. Patrick began the discussion on the draft Guidelines for Student Expression at School-Sponsored Activities, by thanking the Board, members of the community, and especially the students, for their input and comments throughout this process. He noted that while community feedback had been valuable in informing draft iterations of the guidelines, the frustration and confusion expressed by the community prompted him to recommend pausing the adoption and implementation of the guidelines. This pause will provide the administration and Board time to review the ways the District is communicating to faculty and students, the current expectations with respect to school-sponsored student activities; and focus on the existing Code of Conduct and how it does or doesn’t communicate clear expectations for what behaviors are permitted in various settings, including school-sponsored activities. Board members provided their thoughts, feedback, and asked questions before reaching a consensus to support a pause on the draft Guidelines for Student Expression at School-Sponsored Activities. Further information will be provided at a future Board meeting. As Dr. Patrick explained earlier in the meeting, the work in developing the District’s new teacher supervision and evaluation model —STEPS— informed necessary revisions to Articles 35, 36, and also 26 of the STA Contract, which will be presented to the Board for approval later in the meeting. Dr. Patrick presented the first reading of Policy #2210 - Board Organizational Meeting and explained that the revisions made to the policy reflect recent legislation expanding the time frame for boards of education to hold their annual Organizational Meetings. With no further revisions recommended, the second reading will be presented to the Board on September 14th. -
Mr. Lennon presented the second readings of the following:
With no further revisions recommended, the policies and regulation will be presented to the Board for adoption later in the meeting.
Ms. Hahn shared the draft 2026-27 Board of Education Goals and Primary Objectives. Board members provided feedback and suggested revisions that will be added to the draft for further review at the September 14th Board meeting. At the July 15th Board meeting, Ms. Hahn reviewed the process and key components for evaluating the Superintendent and the Board reviewed the NYSCOSS template that was used for the evaluation this past school year. Board members provided feedback on the template and reached a consensus to continue using the NYSCOSS template for the 2026-27 evaluation. Ms. Hahn provided a brief recap of the July 15th discussion regarding Board summer work. She reported that Board members expressed an interest in developing two groups to review the Board’s advocacy initiatives and communication plan. Ms. Dembitzer provided an update on the focus areas of the group who met this month to review potential advocacy initiatives. Ms. Brown reported that their group reviewed the effectiveness of the Board’s current means of communicating and looked at how informed the community is on District matters. The group discussed ways for the Board to broaden its outreach to the community and will meet again this fall. Further reports from both groups will be provided at a future Board meeting. The Board engaged in a follow-up discussion regarding the current gift procedures, the two-step approval process for gifts over $1,000.00, and ways to modify the current gift procedures to expedite the Board approval process for gifts over $1,000.00. Dr. Patrick shared that the District recently moved to an electronic system that streamlines the gift proposal process and a field for expedited review would give donors the option to choose an expedited process. -
Dr. Patrick presented the gift proposals exceeding $1,000.00 for the Board’s review and discussion:
Action Items: The Board approved budget transfers, the stop-loss insurance renewal for the 2026-27 school year, proposed new textbooks, the changes presented to STA Articles 26, 35, and 36, policies and a regulation, the 2026-27 District-wide Safety and Emergency Management Plan, and approved, with gratitude, gift proposals from Fox Meadow, Heathcote, and Quaker Ridge Elementary Schools.
Public Comment: Community members were invited to address the Board; three people spoke in person, no one spoke remotely.
Adjournment: The Board adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. The Board meeting may be viewed on the District website here.
* Note from the Board of Education: Please email your feedback, questions, or comments to boardofed@scarsdaleschools.org
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Scarsdale Public Schools