The Croton-Harmon Board of Education appointed high school principal Dr. Laura Dubak as the district's next assistant superintendent on Feb. 12, setting a $238,000 salary and a three-year probationary term in a 4-0 vote that drew one abstention — and an unusually public argument over how the district hires its leaders. Trustee Allison Samuels abstained, telling the board that she did not believe Superintendent Stephen Walker had followed the district's own recruiting-and-hiring policy in advancing the nomination. Board President Ana Teague, Vice President Anamika Bhatnagar, Sarah Carrier and Neal Haber voted yes. Dubak, the high school principal, begins the new role July 1, 2026, with a probationary term through June 30, 2029. The board also accepted her resignation as principal effective June 30 — Samuels abstained on that vote as well — which, as she noted, leaves the district to recruit for a second senior position at the high school. "I cannot ignore the process since I do not believe the superintendent has conducted a recruiting process that provides all the data I would need to make an important hiring decision according to the BOE policy", 12:40▶ Samuels said. Reading from Policy 9230, including its instruction that the district "seek the most qualified candidates for vacant positions by recruiting from a variety of sources" 12:40▶, she listed standard senior-search elements: internal and external recruitment, broadly representative search committees, and board meetings with all finalists. Samuels, a hiring manager in public education herself, added: "I want to reiterate this is not a comment on Dr. Dubak for whom I have very much a tremendous amount of deep respect and confidence", 12:40▶ she said. Walker thanked retiring Assistant Superintendent John Griffiths for eight years of leadership partnership and said the early notice of the retirement gave the district rare room to plan: "One of the other gifts that he gave us was telling us well in advance of his plans in terms of his retirement", 10:10▶ Walker said, which "allowed us to be in a position that most districts aren't" 10:10▶. Stephen Walker said Dubak met first with board leadership after the retirement plans were known, then with groups of board members. "At no point was there an objection to her as candidate", 18:16▶ Teague said; according to the minutes, Samuels responded that she had not agreed with the process at the time. Teague said the board operates "under the idea that there aren't going to be surprises or grandstanding at public meetings", 19:33▶ and that Samuels had not told her colleagues she planned to raise the concern publicly. Bhatnagar said the policy covers both recruiting and hiring and, she thought, leaves latitude for internal candidates, and framed the appointment as succession planning the board has discussed for a few years: Dubak is "a person who is going to be ready on day one of her accession to this position", 20:30▶ she said, adding that the community has asked for a renewed focus on curriculum, achievement and outcomes. "the highlighting of this policy perhaps reveals that it maybe needs to be revised", 20:30▶ she said; it was adopted in 1994 and last revised in 2014. Before the appointment, Dubak introduced the high school's 2026 honorees: valedictorian Jeremy Pollak, whose science research uses AI models for drug discovery, and salutatorian Maya Sebestyen, who helped document local civil rights history with the Lorraine Hansberry Coalition. Walker also recognized Gabby Stok, one of about 15,000 National Merit Finalists nationwide from roughly 1.3 million PSAT takers. Residents press for a UPK backstop Ten residents spoke during the public hearing, nine on universal prekindergarten. The governor's budget proposal would raise UPK funding to $10,000 per student from $5,400 — but the state budget won't be final until spring, and the district has said it will not add local money. Rebecca Turnbull, thanking the board for its January resolution urging full state funding, said: "I implore the administration and the board to move with more transparency, clarity, and dialogue with parents", 30:40▶ "You're asking parents to have faith that the program will be there without a worst case scenario plan", 30:40▶ she said, calling for a bridge plan and a public session on how the budget is built. Lianne Rice urged the board to be "just as candid and transparent about whether that planned recommendation actually reflects the board's objectives" 33:38▶ as it has been about the limits of its support, questioning why backing UPK in an over $60 million budget must be a non-starter when $5,400 per student is below cost for 62 or more seats. Dan Heier, who moved to Croton five years ago with a 4-year-old daughter, said full-time pre-K will cost families "$18 to $20,000 minimum" 36:46▶ per child: "but we're here tonight, I think, because hope is not a plan", 36:46▶ he said. Jacob Day, whose children are in the classes of 2039 and 2041, noted that provider contracts are due Feb. 26 while the state budget won't be settled until April. "So my question is not about the best case. My question is about the worst case. What is the plan if Albany doesn't deliver?" 42:17▶ he asked. "That's not a plan that's running out the clock", 42:17▶ he said. Rachel McGregor recapped parents' lobbying: roughly 100 people at the Dec. 4 meeting, a petition with more than 550 signatures, testimony at a Westchester budget forum, a provider tour with Senator Pete Harckham. Samantha Harvey called the lack of fully funded UPK "really an equity issue and I would say a feminist issue", 47:54▶ saying its absence would make Croton "a gated community" 47:54▶ — many parents who need the program most cannot attend evening meetings because of childcare costs. Edmund Atkins, citing his brother, a school administrator in Washington state, said districts commonly supplement state pre-K funds; a local share, he argued, would run about a quarter of 1 percent of the budget — and two local providers have already opted out. Michelle (sp), paying $4,200 a month for daycare for her two children, said: "We're just asking to continue a UPK program that was already established", 57:26▶ she said. Ed Riely noted that "over a course of 12 months, three of the primary leaders of the school district have left or will be transferred to a different job", 50:42▶ Riely said, asked for the status of a federal lawsuit over pronoun and free-speech policies, and urged the board to review which symbols are displayed in its schools, among them the transgender and gay pride flags. Teague, responding to the transparency requests, pointed to the budget presentations ahead and said the process "is not an opaque process as far as the board and the district is concerned" 79:50▶. A squeezed revenue picture Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Harrington-Cohen presented the preliminary 2026-27 revenue budget. State school aid would hit a record $39.3 billion (up 4.3 percent) under the executive proposal, but Croton-Harmon is a hold-harmless district in line for about 1 percent more foundation aid — $52,834. The UPK increase — recommended "to go from 5,400 per pupil up to 10,000 per pupil" 95:19▶ — flows outside the operating budget. The proposed tax levy would rise about 1.98 percent, but the cap is "generating only $900,000 for the district", 111:00▶ Harrington-Cohen said, while expenditures are trending "up about $2 million" 123:23▶. The district expects to plug the gap with a little over 4 million from fund balance and reserves, up from about 3.6 million a year ago. "we are being squeezed and it's finally kind of catching up to us", 95:19▶ she said. Haber recapped January's expenditure assumptions — contractual wage increases, a 20 percent jump in comprehensive insurance, utilities up 3 to 7 percent — that the new revenue must absorb. The superintendent's proposed budget comes April 9, adoption April 21, a public hearing May 7 and the vote May 19 — when three board seats are also on the ballot; candidate petitions are due April 20 with 38 signatures, District Clerk Denise Bisaccia said. Also Thursday
  • The board accepted the retirements of four teachers effective July 1, 2026: Annemarie Barone of Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary and high school math teachers Gregory Bradley, Susan Dudman and Kym Garrett — "some heavy hitters to fill", 133:50▶ Teague said.
  • Two donations to the Class of 1985 Scholarship Fund at the high school: $960 from Kenneth and Kimberly Purdy and $25 from Gretchen Grimm, earmarked for seniors who have shown kindness and inclusivity.
  • The 2026-27 school calendar was approved, with students starting before Labor Day (Sept. 7) and a March 10 conference day coinciding with Eid — "an appropriate and respectful decision", 156:50▶ Walker said, that allows Muslim students to observe the holiday.
  • Policies on staff political activities (Policy 1310) and ex-officio student trustees (Policy 2125) got first readings — Samuels asked how the former applies to the CTA's interviews of board candidates in school buildings — and five policies were adopted on second reading, including new poll-watcher rules.
  • The varsity baseball team's spring-training trip to Fort Pierce, Florida, March 30-April 3, was approved.
The board meets next on Feb. 26 for a work session on operations, facilities and transportation — the same day UPK provider contracts are due, with residents pressing for an answer on bridge funding.