The Croton-Harmon Union Free School District board meeting on April 10 opened with a celebration of student initiative, as an eighth-grader presented a plan to combat the drop-off in youth sports participation, before quickly pivoting to critical administrative dates for the upcoming budget vote and board elections. **Student Leadership Takes Center Stage** In a highlight of the evening, Avery Gosell, an eighth-grade student at Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School, presented her Girl Scout Silver Award project to the board. Gosell identified a decline in sports participation among students around age nine and proposed a solution: the "Tiger Sports Showcase." "Sports are really beneficial for students. Like teaching life skills, building team relationships, and just like staying healthy," Gosell told the board. "I think they're really valuable... I kind of wanted to find a way that I could like kind of prevent that drop off and get more people involved in our local like opportunities." {{quote:215}} The event, scheduled for May 28 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the high school, will feature high school athletes and coaches running stations to allow younger children to try different sports. Local organizations, such as the Town of Cortlandt, will also be present to inform parents about recreational opportunities. "By having Croton High Schoolers there, they're getting to see student athletes that have stayed with the sport, really grown with it, and really enjoy it and have a passion and can inspire those younger students," Gosell explained. {{quote:215}} Superintendent Brendan Walker praised the initiative, emphasizing the district's commitment to empowering student voices. "One of the things that we feel best about as a school system is, that we've been able to create over years and years and years, school environments where, students not only feel inspired to try to bring about change in the world and in our local school setting, but more importantly, as importantly, they in addition to that inspiration, feel like they have the voice to actually do something about it," Walker said. {{quote:115}} **Key Dates for Voters and Parents** Following the student presentation, Board President Dr. Amit Chaudhuri laid out a strict timeline for the upcoming budget season and board elections, urging residents to mark their calendars. Nominating petitions for candidates interested in running for the Board of Education must be submitted to the district office by the end of the business day on April 21, 2025. The election and budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Voting will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Croton-Harmon High School. Voters will cast ballots for the school district budget, the library budget, and open board seats. For those seeking to learn more about the candidates, the district will host a Board of Education Candidate Forum on May 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library. "The forum will be moderated by someone from the League of Women Voters," a board member announced. "Community members will be able to submit questions in advance. all information on how to do that will be sent out via a parent square notification." {{quote:445}} Additionally, the district reminded parents that Universal Pre-K program forms are available, with a lottery drawing scheduled for April 30 at 10:00 a.m. at the district office. **Celebrating Arts and Academics** Superintendent Walker’s report also highlighted recent successes in the arts and academics. He praised the "All-County" musicians and the "Taste of Culture" event, which featured 18 different cultures. Walker also lauded the recent "Peter Pan Jr." musical and a new cross-building collaboration where high school ELL (English Language Learner) students visited a second-grade class at CET to read bilingual fairy tales. "Those are one of those moments where it just it feels like the vision of the school district coming to life in front of you is an emotional thing to be a part of," Walker said regarding the collaboration. {{quote:655}} The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 22, deviating from the typical Thursday schedule. It will be a work session held in the high school library, specifically regarding the budget vote.