Scarsdale School District Assistant Superintendent Joan Weber explains the personnel budget to the Board of Education at last Monday's meeting.

Photo Credit: Mark Chapman

Scarsdale School District Superintendent Michael McGill says he believes the Board of Education will elect to preserve Scarsdale's education quality.

Photo Credit: Mark Chapman

SCARSDALE, N.Y. – Round three of the scheduled four-round Scarsdale Union Free School District budget sessions is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the administration office in the high school. The session will be followed at 8 p.m. by the regular board meeting.

Superintendent Michael McGill presented his budget proposal for 2012-2013 a week ago at the first session. The proposal was $1.1 million above the state's new 2 percent tax levy cap and includes cutting 9.75 full-time employees – 7.01 from the professional staff – but preserved course offerings.

The budget proposal would add about $228 to the average Scarsdale homeowner's tax bill, according to school district business manager Jeff Martin.

Monday night's session is scheduled to focus on instructional support, special education, pupil personnel services, technology, community services, undistributed expenses, debt services, employee benefits, fund balance and a review of unfinished items from previous sessions.

McGill said after last Monday's unveiling the budget is as austere as he can make it without cutting into the system's educational quality.

"We can't make any more cuts without starting to eliminate substantial things," he said. He said that, this week, he will give the Board of Education a list of items that would be cut if the budget were to be pared further.

McGill said he believes the board will ultimately come down on the side of preserving the educational quality, and it will be up to the public to make the final call in the May 15 election. According to state law, a budget that surpasses the tax levy cap must win 60 percent of the votes to pass.

McGill called the 2 percent tax levy cap an "arbitrary number set by the people in Albany that has nothing to do with what the people of Scarsdale want."

The fourth and final study session will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the administration office. The school board will present its preliminary budget at the regular board meeting at 8 p.m. Monday, March 5, and will take community comments or statements at the March 19 board meeting.

The board plans a budget forum and study session at 8 p.m. April 11 to receive written statements from community groups and to discuss community input. Then, at the April 16 board meeting, the board will respond to the community's written statements and adopt the budget and tax report card.

All sessions are open to the public.