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Bronxville School Board of Education Report on Budget and DEI Workshops

Photo by A. Warner

By the Bronxville School Board of Education

March 16, 2023: The Bronxville School Board of Education held two workshops on Saturday, March 4: a Budget Workshop at 9 am and a workshop on Continuing the DEI Conversation at 10:30 am.  Below is a report on those workshops.

Budget Workshop

At the 9 am Budget Workshop, Asst. Superintendent for Business Dan Carlin presented an update on the 2023-24 draft budget, noting that next year’s budget includes funding for an additional school psychologist and guidance counselor, consistent with prior workshop discussions on strategic planning that emphasized the importance of student well-being initiatives. 

Dr. Kelly also reviewed some other areas of strategic priority:

-In the communications area, while there had been some discussion of adding a full-time staff person in this role, she felt that it would be difficult to identify one person with all the requisite skills, and therefore recommended that the district’s needs be served next year by two firms who would support operational and strategic needs, respectively. 

-She noted that Director of Technology Brad Ashley had applied to the Bronxville School Foundation for funding for a “programmer/scholar in residence” who will provide technology training to teachers.

-She requested that the BOE consider 2023-24 budget funding for two new initiatives: a K-8 Math Coach and summer professional development funds to train teachers in interdisciplinary work. The Math Coach request is based on the success of a similar position already in place for Literacy; in both cases, the coach trains the teachers in best practices to improve outcomes in all classrooms.

In order to offset the cost of these new positions, impact of inflation, contractual salary increases, and other cost increases, Mr. Carlin noted that there will be some savings from a reorganization of district administrative responsibilities resulting in one less senior administrative position. 

Mr. Carlin also noted that while revenues were currently budgeted conservatively for interest income and special education tuition, it was likely that there would be upside in these areas as well. 

In sum, he expects the budget will come in under the tax cap. The BOE will consider the revised budget at its regular meeting on March 16, 2023.

Continuing the DEI Conversation

The Board welcomed community members to a 10:30am workshop on Continuing the DEI Conversation, opening with a brief presentation of “learnings” the Board wished to share with the community, concluding with a review by Dr. Kelly of the expanded “outcomes” language of the Bronxville Promise. 

Board President Susan Conniff shared the BOE’s experience, during the superintendent search process, of learning how other high-performing districts were addressing this issue, noting that some districts had separate policies, some did not - but all consistently talked about using the language of “belonging.” 

Ms. Conniff clarified that the updating of the district’s Policy on the Teaching of Controversial Issues will happen through the board’s regular policy review process. The BOE then expressed its desire to listen to input from the community.

Several community members praised the language of the Bronxville Promise on inclusion and respect for diversity but asked for more communication on how it is modeled in the curriculum. 

Some shared examples of their children experiencing bullying and again asked for more information on how the Promise is taught in action and whether the district might consider providing tools to parents to help reinforce at home. 

There were questions about the difference between a policy and a mission statement with some discussion about the responsibility for enforcing policy and whether a mission statement might be more visible in the culture of the school. 

Several community members emphasized the importance of culture, not just words. One community member emphasized the importance of teaching civic duty to students and fostering an environment where they can have discussions and make mistakes. 

Board member Eddie Lennon noted that it was important for all of us to model civic dialogue for our children. One community member expressed support for a separate policy on DEI (it would do more uniting than dividing) and some felt there should not be a separate policy. 

One parent quoted from a WSJ op-ed on the different meanings of DEI and another expressed concern over bias in the classroom. 

There were questions about what options the BOE was considering and Ms. Conniff responded that all options were on the table - there would be no decisions until all community members had an opportunity to be heard. One community member asked that the BOE consider holding these kinds of workshops more regularly.

At the conclusion of the 90-minute workshop, the BOE expressed appreciation to the community members in attendance for sharing their thoughts. 

A second Continuing the DEI Conversation workshop will be held on Monday, March 27th at 7pm in the Auditorium Lobby. It is not necessary to attend both workshops - the same format and material will be presented and it is intended for those who have not yet had an opportunity to participate through the Spring-Fall 2022 Advisory Committee process or at the March 4th workshop. 

Bronxville School Board of Trustees

Susan Conniff, President

Michael Brandes, Vice President

Michael Finley

Miki Kapoor

Edward Lennon

Peter McSherry

Jennifer Russo

 

 

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