Photo by N. Bower

By the Bronxville School Board of Trustees

March 11, 2026: The Bronxville Board of Education meeting held on February 26, 2026 focused on major decisions regarding athletic field lighting, significant challenges facing the upcoming school budget, and a detailed analysis of the evolving college admissions landscape.

Major Decision: Permanent Field Lighting

After conducting extensive research, meetings with the study group, and reviewing community feedback through a "Thought Exchange," the Board officially decided not to move forward with permanent field lighting. While the Board acknowledged the need to support a robust athletics program, they cited community division, unforeseen consequences, the importance of preserving the Village’s historical character and addressing concerns regarding noise, light pollution, and environmental impacts. The Board confirmed they have no intention of revisiting this proposal following the upcoming budget vote. The study group will continue to meet to pursue other alternatives to our field constraints. The Board appreciates the community's patience, candor, and support as it researched the possibilities associated with new lighting technology.

2026-2027 Budget and Finance

The District is facing a difficult fiscal environment for the upcoming school year:

-Inflation from 2021-25 increased 18%-20% (Core vs. CPIU), while the Bronxville UFSD budget and tax levy increased only 7% -8% respectively, over those years. Inflation has grown at more than double the rate of the tax cap for several years, while the District has also experienced sustained multi-year increases in health insurance, transportation, and athletic costs. Additional budgetary pressures this year include increased expenses related to athletic transportation, water, sewer tax, security, natural gas, electricity, and necessary fund balance allocations. This is the first time in the 13-year history of the tax levy cap that the Bronxville budget will require an override.

-Tax Levy Cap Override: The draft proposed $57.4 million budget currently includes a 4.3% tax levy increase, which is above the state-calculated cap of 1.94%.

-Reserves and Bonding: The District is working to maintain its AA1 bond rating as it prepares to issue bonds for the elementary school capital project.

College Admissions Landscape

The High School Counseling Department provided a comprehensive report on current trends in college admissions:

-Testing Requirements: While many schools remain test-optional, highly selective "Ivy Plus" institutions (such as Harvard, Yale, and MIT) are reinstating standardized testing requirements. Data suggests that test scores are strong predictors of first-year college success.

-Strategic Advantages: The data shows that Early Decision (ED) offers a significant competitive advantage, with some schools showing up to an 11x higher acceptance rate for ED applicants compared to regular decision.

-Bronxville Performance: Bronxville students continue to outperform national acceptance averages at many top institutions.

-Emerging Trends: Counselors are monitoring the use of AI in admissions, the impact of the "enrollment cliff" (declining birth rates), and the rising popularity of Southern universities influenced by social media trends like "Bama Rush".

-Professional Excellence: To ensure our students and parents receive the most current college counseling expertise, our counselors engage in continuous professional outreach. This year’s highlights include campus tours, national conference attendance, and an invitation for Aaron Kind to serve a two year term on Denison University’s Counselor Advisory Board.

Facilities and Operations

-Capital Project: The upcoming elementary school capital project is now projected to be a three-summer undertaking rather than two, due to the volume of work required.

-School Calendar: The Board adopted the 2026-2027 school calendar, which includes 182 student days and 186 teacher days. To accommodate superintendent’s conference days without increasing the number of half-days for elementary parents, existing parent-teacher conference half-days were decreased from 6 to 4 next year.

-Personnel: The Board accepted the resignation of District Treasurer Albert Corvino and celebrated the contract extension of Elementary Principal Ms. Adrienne Laitman.

Mr. Carlin will present a second draft of the 26-27 budget at the March 7 workshop, which is open to the public. 

You can watch the full meeting here on our Youtube channel.

A detailed meeting agenda may be found at Bronxville’s BoardDocs site.

The BOE’s next regular meeting will take place on Thursday, March 19th, 2026; the public portion of this meeting starts at 7 PM.

Edward Lennon, President

Sara Kenny, Vice President

Michael Brandes

Susan Conniff

Miki Kapoor

Peter McSherry

Christina Skinner