By Carol P. Bartold

Jun. 22, 2016: The Bronxville Board of Education, at its final meeting of the 2015-2016 academic year, bid farewell to three departing trustees. Both board president Denise Tormey and trustee David Brashear are leaving the board after six years of service. Trustee Tom Nichols is stepping down after having served one year to finish out the term of Dr. James Hudson, who agreed to serve one year beyond his term in the seat held by Ruth Wood.

“If you were going to be here for only one year,” Tormey said to Nichols, “this was the year.” In thanking him for his input on construction matters, she said that having Nichols’s input “was incredibly valuable as we tried to make our way through a number of anticipated events.”

In her farewell remarks, Tormey thanked her fellow board members, past and present, the administration, and the faculty and staff for their dedication to and support of The Bronxville School.

She noted that, year in and year out, the school district in Bronxville is ranked among the top public school districts in the nation. Given the fact that it is one of 13,000 public school districts across the nation that serve 50 million students, she added, “I think it is rather amazing.”

If achieving such a high level of performance were as easy as following a recipe, Tormey said, “Every other school would be doing the same thing.” She pointed to the establishment of excellence as the standard for The Bronxville School in all facets of its operation and the expectation of nothing short of excellence as the factor that has established the school as a perennial high performer.

“The Bronxville Promise has developed in recent years as we have tried to articulate those attributes we wish to embody as an institution,” Tormey said. “It has given a focus and a name to what has always been the goal.”

Retiring trustee David Brashear, who served for two years as board president, commended Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone and the entire administration for their “thoughtful leadership and constructive working relationship” with the board.

“I believe a successful district like ours must do three things well,” Brashear said. It must deliver a strong educational product, it must ensure that its facilities enhance the abilities to deliver a strong academic and extracurricular program, and it must accomplish the first two within the confines of a sound financial framework.

“I am proud of the work we’ve done together as a team over the course of the past six years in all of these areas,” Brashear stated.

He noted that he is particularly pleased with the facilities enhancements that the board and district have put in place. First and foremost, Brashear said, are the renovations of the auditorium and the middle school science wing. “Our partnership with The Bronxville School Foundation … and the PTA enabled us to purchase something much more than a basic renovation.”

For the future, Brashear feels the board and district should continue to enhance curriculum offerings and look for every opportunity to develop critical science, math, and technology skills within the student body. He stated that future facilities upgrades should include the installation of air conditioning throughout the entire building. "In a period of warming temperatures," Brashear said, "much of our building is too hot to achieve the teaching and learning success on many days in September, May, and June."

Brashear urged future boards to not waiver in their quest to maintain a tight rein on expenditures and to perhaps “rethink ways in which our budget is funded.”

Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone thanked Tormey, Brashear, and Nichols for their service in one of the more challenging positions of service to the community.

The new Bronxville Board of Education will hold its reorganization meeting on Tuesday, July 5, at 7:00 pm in the school's board room.

Pictured here (L to R):  Retiring Bronxville school board trustees Tom Nichols, Denise Tormey, and David Brashear.

Photo by Carol P. Bartold