Croton-Harmon Superintendent Stephen Walker told families at the January 8, 2026 school board meeting that the district would keep universal prekindergarten operating, while exploring classroom space at Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School as one way to support a provider for 2026–27. That commitment left important questions unresolved: which organizations would provide the program, where classes would operate and how many state-funded seats would be available. No provider contract or CET classroom arrangement was approved that night. Parent Mike Grubiak asked the board to bridge the funding gap facing Children's Space North so children could stay with a familiar provider. Resident and attorney Liberty McAteer urged the district to preserve continuity and explore ways to cover a shortfall. Walker emphasized the distinction between preserving UPK and retaining a particular provider: “We think of UPK as a program and not necessarily as a specific provider.”Read 88:06▶ He cautioned that the state funding announcements discussed that evening were the beginning of a process, rather than its conclusion. Assistant Superintendent Rachel DePaul described outreach to existing and prospective providers, visits to districts with in-house programs and possible shared services with neighboring districts. She also identified Rising Star as an existing UPK partner. DePaul expected provider proposals in late January and contract recommendations in February. The presentation's planning calendar placed family-interest forms in March, a lottery in April and the state's grant allocation in July 2026. DePaul said the district planned to shorten families' time to accept an offered seat so it could move through the waitlist more quickly. These were the plans presented in January, not confirmation of the eventual provider awards or enrollment. UPK discussion Trustee Sarah Carrier asked the district to summarize the discussion for families who had not attended, noting how quickly the information was changing. The broader 2026–27 budget picture was also preliminary. Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Harrington-Cohen projected largely flat revenue outside roughly $1 million in additional tax-levy revenue, while early spending estimates exceeded expected income. Her budget slides identified rising salaries, benefits, insurance and operating costs. The board was beginning budget development; it did not adopt a budget or a tax-cap override at this meeting. Budget presentation The academic presentation reported 719 AP course enrollments in 2025, up from 612 in 2024, and 26 different AP exams offered in 2025. Those enrollment figures count course enrollments, not individual students. The slides also highlighted the high school's 2024 AP School Honor Roll Platinum recognition and AP Access Award. CHHS Principal Laura Dubak described an approach that encourages students to attempt demanding courses without imposing the entry barriers used by some schools. She said AP Personal Finance with Business and AP Psychology were planned for 2026–27. In an early report on the phone restrictions, Dubak said the high school was not seeing significant compliance problems and that the small number of confiscations had involved respectful conversations. Academic and phone-policy discussion Trustees adopted revisions to the media-relations policy, its consent form and the wrongful-conduct reporting policy, by a 7-0 vote. The media form allows a parent's withholding of consent to remain in effect during a child's district enrollment until age 18, unless revoked, instead of requiring annual renewal. It provides separate choices for media coverage and memory books or yearbooks. The policy retains exceptions, including unidentified group images and events open to the public. The wrongful-conduct policy directs the superintendent to notify the board when a report is received. A report received by the board must be shared with the superintendent unless the superintendent is a subject of the allegation. These were adopted revisions; proposed changes to public-comment, election, organizational-meeting and concussion policies received only a first reading. Trustees debated whether the public-comment language sounded welcoming enough and sent concerns back for further work. Other approved business included a $1,000 NYSIR grant for a transportation-department professional-development and team-building activity, a teachers' association side agreement addressing retiree health-insurance eligibility, a 2025–26 boys lacrosse merger with Briarcliff, and a Croton Little League facility-fee waiver. Two Class of 1985 Scholarship Fund donations had a different outcome. Trustees initially approved a $960 gift, then rescinded that vote and tabled both that gift and a separate $25 donation while seeking clarification of the scholarship's eligibility language. The final disposition was a hold, not acceptance. Recorded decisions and documents