Countdown to 

SCHOOL BUDGET VOTE and SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION 

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. 

Scarsdale Middle School 

134 Mamaroneck Road 

The School Budget Vote and School Board Election is fast approaching, and it is time to make sure you are eligible and registered to vote. 

Eligibility Information 

You must meet either of the following criteria to be Eligible to Vote: 

• Be registered with the Westchester County Board of Elections to vote in the General Elections, OR 
• Be registered with the Scarsdale Public School District and have voted in a school election within the past four years. 

You must meet the following criteria for the Qualifications to Register: 

• Be a citizen of the United States. 
• Be a resident of the Scarsdale Public School District for at least 30 days preceding the election. 
• Be at least 18 years old by the date of the vote/election.

Registering to Vote

Check now to see whether you are registered to vote for the school budget and elect school board member(s) on May 16, 2023. Visit Am I Registered to Vote?

There are two ways to register to vote:

1. Register with the Scarsdale Public School District

• Qualified voters may personally register, for the purpose of voting at all future school elections, with the District Clerk during regular business hours at the office of the District Clerk, 2 Brewster Road, Scarsdale, New York 10583.
• Please contact the District Clerk at (914) 721-2410 or [email protected] to schedule an appointment. The registration form may be found here. The form must be completed and signed in person. 

*Voter registration forms for the May 16, 2023, Budget Vote and Board Elections will be accepted by the District Clerk until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, 2023. 

2. Register with the Westchester County Board of Elections 

• Qualified voters may register to vote with the County Board of Elections by either: Completing an online application with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, OR 
• Downloading and completing the voter registration form which can be submitted in person or by mail to the Westchester County Board of Elections. 
• Anyone who completes an online application or registers in person or by mail will be registered with Westchester County and also considered to be registered to vote in the school district votes. 
• Mailed voter registration forms must be received by the County Board of Elections in time to be processed by May 16, 2023, the date of the vote. 

Applying for Absentee Ballots 

Registered voters who will not be in Westchester County on Election Day, May 16, may apply for an absentee ballot by submitting the Application for Absentee Ballot form: 



• Via email to [email protected], OR 
• Via regular mail or in-person to Honore Adams, District Clerk, 2 Brewster Road. 

 Applications for absentee ballots cannot be received before April 17th.

• If an absentee ballot is to be mailed to the voter, the voter must return the completed application form in time for it to be received by the District Clerk seven days before the vote: Tuesday, May 9, 2023. 
• If completed application forms are delivered personally, they must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. the day before the vote, Monday, May 15, 2023. 
• All absentee ballots must be delivered to the District Clerk’s office no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the vote, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. 

For additional information, please visit the Scarsdale Schools Voter Information Page.

I hope that you are enjoying the start of spring! The LWVS had a very active March filled with advocacy and civic engagement. We held both our School Budget and Village Budget Information Sessions and Consensus Meetings and issued corresponding LWVS Consensus Statements providing commendations as well as recommendations.

On April 23, we will hold our annual Book Discussion to share our thoughts about Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships, by Nina Totenberg. In the comfort of a private home, we will enjoy light refreshments and good company. Please register to attend–we look forward to seeing you.

This issue of the bulletin announces our proposed slate of Officers, Board Members, and Off-Board Nominating Committee Members for 2023-24. In addition, the bulletin also includes our proposed 2023-24 Local Program. We will vote on all business at our Annual Meeting on Friday, May 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the Scarsdale Golf Club–please join us!

As we approach election season, starting with our local May School Board and Budget Vote and continuing through the November General Election, the LWVS will continue to register voters and provide essential voter information. In addition, for the second year in a row, the LWVS will be working with the LWV of New Rochelle to pre-register and register students in Westchester County high schools. Anyone who wishes to volunteer in this effort should contact me at [email protected].

For members who are interested in advocacy on the State level, the League of Women Voters of New York State will be holding its 60th biennial convention on June 2– 4, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza Albany – Desmond Hotel. The convention will be held in person and will be the first in-person convention since 2019. At the convention, local League delegates will have the opportunity to meet Leaguers from across the state, take workshops on a variety of topics–from election law to League operations, and will vote on next term’s slate of State officers, bylaw amendments, and State Program. LWVS has a few open delegate slots, so if you are interested in attending or would like further information, please contact me at the email address above.

I encourage you to be active and engaged in our League as well as the community!

Upcoming LWVS Events:

• Sunday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m., Book Discussion, Private Home
• Friday, May 5 at 10:30 a.m., Annual Meeting, Scarsdale Golf Club

Best wishes,

Alissa Baum

April 2023

• 4/10, Monday:
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting
• 4/23, Sunday:
• 7:00 p.m. Book Discussion, Private Home

May 2023

• 5/5, Friday:
• 10:30 a.m. LWVS Annual Meeting and Luncheon, Scarsdale Golf Club
• 5/16, Tuesday:
• 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. School Budget Vote and BOE Election, Scarsdale Middle School Gym

June 2023

• 6/12, Monday:
• 9:00 a.m. Joint Old/New Board Meeting

Please join us for our

LWVS Book Discussion

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships

by Nina Totenberg

Sunday, April 23, 2023

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Private Home

We look forward to meeting in person for a lively discussion about Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships, a memoir in which journalist Nina Totenberg reflects on her relationships with family and prominent friends, including her longterm friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  

The book is an extraordinary account of two women who paved the way for future generations by tearing down professional and legal barriers. It is also an intimate memoir of the power of friendships as women began to pry open career doors and transform the workplace. Dinners with Ruth also weaves together compelling, personal portraits of other fascinating women and men from Nina’s life, including her cherished NPR colleagues Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer; her beloved husbands; her friendships with multiple Supreme Court Justices, including Lewis Powell, William Brennan, and Antonin Scalia; and Nina’s own family—her father, the legendary violinist Roman Totenberg; and her “best friends,” her sisters. 

Bronx River Books in Scarsdale Village is offering a 10% discount on the purchase of the book when you mention you are participating in the league of Women Voters of Scarsdale Book Club. 

We look forward to seeing you on April 23rd!

League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

Annual Meeting Agenda

Friday, May 5, 2023

10:30 a.m.

Scarsdale Golf Club

I. Call to Order and Welcome to All 

• Introduction of Parliamentarian
• Introduction of Secretary
• Adoption of Order of Business
• Motion to have Annual Meeting minutes adopted by the LWVS Board

II. President’s Report

III. Treasurer’s Report



IV. Budget Presentation: 2023-24

• Budget Adoption 

V. 2023-24 Local Program Presentation

• Local Program Adoption

VI. Report of the Nominating Committee

• Nominations from the Floor
• Election and Installation of 2023-24 Officers, Directors, and Nominating Committee

VII. Directions to the Board 

VIII. Other Business Announcements

IX. Adjournment

Luncheon Speaker: Donna Lieberman

Executive Director of the

New York Civil Liberties Union

Democracy and Equal Rights After Dobbs

Donna Lieberman has been executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union since December 2001. 

Under Lieberman's leadership, the NYCLU has expanded the scope and depth of its work, using litigation, advocacy, and state-wide organizing to promote civil rights and civil liberties. Among the NYCLU’s many accomplishments during her tenure are protecting the right to counsel, reforming stop and frisk and solitary confinement, repealing the 50a secrecy law for law enforcement, representing Edie Windsor to win marriage equality, expanding abortion rights, winning voting rights in East Ramapo school board elections, overhauling conditions in the psychiatric emergency rooms in Kings County Hospital Center, and founding the Education Policy Center and the Teen Activist Program. 

Under her leadership, the NYCLU is widely recognized as the state's leading voice for freedom, justice, and equality, advocating for those whose rights and liberties have been denied. 

Lieberman began her public interest legal career as a criminal defense lawyer in the South Bronx office of the Legal Aid Society, and she later served as executive director of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys. For a decade, she served on the faculty of Urban Legal Studies Program at City College. She joined the NYCLU in 1989 and was the founding director of its Reproductive Rights project.

Tickets can be purchased at $50 per adult in advance, $55 after May 1; Students $30

LWVS General Membership and Consensus Meeting:

2023-24 School Budget

On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, we convened our General Information and Member

Consensus meeting regarding the School District’s 2023-24 Budget. The League

comments were read during public comment at the Board of Education Community Budget Forum on March 27, 2023. Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead, the LWVS School Budget Co-Chairs, conducted the League Information and Consensus meeting. Dr. Drew Patrick, Superintendent of Schools; Ms. Amber Yusuf, Board of Education President; Mr. Ron Schulhof, School Board Vice President; Ms. Suzie Hahn Pascutti, School Board Trustee; Mr. Stuart Mattey, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Facilities; Dr. Edgar McIntosh, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Mr. Eric Rauschenbach, Director of Special Education and Student Services; and Ray Pappalardi, Director of Physical Education, Health, and Athletics, constituted our panel.

The panelists responded to League-prepared questions and audience questions. They

provided an overview of the Budget and discussed the details of certain portions of the

Budget including proposed staffing, special education, the prioritization of student social and emotional health, the budget development process, advocacy, and the Scarsdale High School Auditorium Project.  

Upcoming School Budget dates:



• Monday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m., Board of Education adopts the Budget
• Tuesday, May 16, Board of Education Public Budget Vote

Links:

• LWVS School Budget Questions and District Responses
• LWVS Consensus Statement on the 2023-24 Proposed School Budget

LWVS General Membership and Consensus Meeting:

2023-24 Village Budget

On Friday, March 24, 2022, we convened our General Information and Member Consensus meeting regarding the Village’s 2023-24 budget. Shilpa Spencer and Tracy Tang, LWVS Village Budget Portfolio Chairs, conducted the meeting. Trustee Karen Brew, Village Manager Robert Cole, Assistant Village Manager Alex Marshall, Village Treasurer Ann Scaglione, and Deputy Treasurer Maria Colotti were our panelists. 

The panelists provided information in response to League questions and then took questions from the audience. They provided an overview of this year’s budgeting process in which they discussed the need to address long-deferred capital improvement, the impact of inflationary pressures, the unassigned fund balance policy, and the need to smooth out the tax levy to meet the current and future needs of the Village.  

In addition, panelists explained the staffing needs of the Village, water rate changes, and the rollout of the ClearGov budgeting platform. The LWVS Village Budget Consensus Statement was presented on March 28 at the statutory public hearing on the Tentative Budget.   

Upcoming Village Budget dates: 

• Tuesday, April 25, Village Board to vote on the final 2023-24 Budget (must be adopted prior to May 1).

Links:

• FY 2023-24 Tentative Budget
• LWVS Village Budget Questions and Village Responses
• LWVS Consensus Statement on the 2023-24 Proposed Village Budget

Students Inside Albany

Two Scarsdale High School students, Lana Weiser and Sophie Hoffman, have been selected for their inspiring achievement in their school and community to participate in this year’s Students Inside Albany (SIA) Conference. This is the 12th consecutive year that the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale has selected two students to attend the conference. The SIA program generated overwhelming interest at Scarsdale High School, and all applicants had impressive involvement and qualifications.  

We are tremendously grateful that this year’s four-day conference will be in person and will take place in Albany from Sunday, May 21st to Wednesday, May 24th. The agenda will be packed with tools to instruct students on how to influence public policy decision-making at the state level. Additionally, the opportunity to meet in person with legislators, which is always the highlight of the Conference, will continue.

The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale looks forward to offering the opportunity for Scarsdale students to attend the Students Inside Albany Conference again in 2024.

2022 Youth Voter Engagement Pilot Project

The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale and the League of Women Voters of New Rochelle have teamed up, for the second year in a row, to organize a Youth Voter Engagement Project in May to register students to vote at designated Westchester high schools.   

Part of the League’s mission is to educate citizens, including high school students, on the electoral process in order to help build a lifelong habit of voting and civic engagement. Minorities and citizens under the age of 35 are underrepresented in the voting booth. This Project, made possible by the League of Women Voters Education Fund, hopes to mitigate some of these voting disparities. 

For more information or to express interest in volunteering, please contact Alissa Baum at [email protected].

LWVW County Government Committee Statement

Follow this link to the LWVW's County Government Committee's statement regarding two issues regarding the proposed County/State Legislative Package from the Governor's office.

Thank you

The LWVS thrives with the support and hard work of a community of volunteers. I would like to extend thanks to the volunteers who contributed their valuable time and energy during the month of March.

Thanks for the thorough and detailed work of Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead on the School Budget portfolio as well as Shilpa Spencer and Tracy Tang on the Village Budget portfolio.

Thanks to Donna Conkling and Beatrice Sevcik for their work on Voter Service. Thank you to Cindy Yau and Jessica Zellner for organizing Students Inside Albany. Thanks to Erika Rublin for her work as Treasurer and Jenny Tabak for her work as Membership Statistician.

Thanks to Dana Matsushita for her careful, thoughtful, and detailed work on the LWVS Bulletin as well as on our eblast communications. Thanks to Heedan Chung for keeping the community informed over social media. Thanks to Diane Baylor for taking such detailed and thorough minutes at our meetings and for her wise counsel and supportive work.  

Thanks to Anne Lyons for her work on the LWVS winter finance drive. Thanks to Kitt Rosenthal for her kind words and for serving as our liaison to the LWVW. Thanks to Jyoti Ruta and Jen Zola for their supportive Board work.

Thanks to Elissa Ruback and the LWVS Nominating Committee, Leah Dembitzer, Kerry Hayes, Diksha Mudbhary, and Cindy Yau, for their work on the 2023-24 Board slate. Thank you to Nancy Michaels and the LWVS budget committee, Erika Rublin, Debbie Miller, Diane Baylor, and Anne Lyons, for their work on the 2023-24 proposed budget.

Thanks to Diane Baylor and Diksha Mudbhary for serving on the LWVUS working groups on LWV membership changes. Thanks to Anne Lyons, Debbie Miller, and Jenny Tabak for offering their knowledge and expertise in preparation for these working group meetings.

Thank you to members of the School and Village Administration and Boards who joined us for our March Information Sessions – the LWVS appreciates all of your hard work on behalf of our community.

I look forward to all of the positive work that lies before us.

All my best,

Alissa Baum

Village of Scarsdale

As of April 3, 2023

Board of Trustees

Justin Arest, Mayor

  Term ends April 2025

Randall Whitestone, Deputy Mayor

  2nd term ends April 2024

Sameer Ahuja

  2nd term ends April 2025

Karen Brew

  2nd term ends April 2025

Jeremy Gans

  1st term ends April 2024

Dara Gruenberg

  1st term ends April 2025

Ken Mazer

  1st term ends April 2024

Board of Education

Amber Yusuf, President

   1st term ends June 2023

Ronald Schulhof, Vice President

  2nd term ends June 2025

Colleen Brown

  1st term ends June 2025

Jim Dugan

  1st term ends June 2024

Robert Klein

  1st term ends June 2023

Suzie Hahn Pascutti

  1st term ends June 2025

Jessica Resnick-Ault

  1st term ends June 2024

League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

2022-23

Officers

President: Alissa Baum

[email protected]

First Vice President: Jenny Simon Tabak

Second Vice President: Anne Lyons

Recording Secretary: Diane Baylor

[email protected]

Corresponding Secretary: Dana Matsushita

[email protected]

Treasurer: Erika Rublin

[email protected]

2022-2023 Elected Board Members

Heedan Chung

Donna Conkling

Dalya Khan

Nan Eileen Mead

Diksha Mudbhary

Jyoti Ruta

Beatrice Sevcik

Cindy Yau

Jessica Zellner

Appointed Board Members

Debbie Miller

Kitt Rosenthal

Shilpa Spencer

Tracy Tang

Jennifer Zola

Advocacy: Alissa Baum and Diksha Mudbhary 

Audit: Amber Yusuf 

Book Group: Donna Conkling

Budget: Nancy Michaels (Off-Board) 

Communications:

• Bulletin Editor: Dana Matsushita 
• Eblast: Dana Matsushita  
• Publicity: Heedan Chung 
• Social Media: Heedan Chung 
• Website: Diane Baylor 

Development/Finance Drive: Anne Lyons

Hospitality: Kitt Rosenthal

Local Budgets:

• School Budget: Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead 
• Village Budget: Shilpa Spencer and Tracy Tang 

Local Election Systems:

• School Election: Jyoti Ruta 
• Village Election: Diane Baylor 

Luncheons: Anne Lyons

LWVW Liaison: Kitt Rosenthal

Membership: Heedan Chung 

• Membership Statistician: Jenny Simon Tabak 

Nominating Chair: Elissa Ruback (Off-Board) 

Program/Education: Cindy Yau

Voter Service:

• Candidate Forum(s): Donna Conkling and Beatrice Sevcik
• Naturalization Court: Donna Conkling and Beatrice Sevcik
• Voter Registration Drive(s): Alissa Baum and Beatrice Sevcik

Youth Engagement:

• Civics Jeopardy: Jessica Zellner and Jen Zola
• Mock Election: Jessica Zellner and Jen Zola
• Students Inside Albany: Cindy Yau