The Croton-Harmon Board of Education began its public review of the 2025-26 school year budget on February 27, focusing on the essential operational costs that keep the district running. While the meeting was a work session with no votes taken on the final spending plan, administrators laid out a financial picture shaped by rising inflation and the district’s long-term strategic goals. Superintendent Brendan Walker opened the presentation by acknowledging the difficulty of crafting this year’s budget. He noted that rising costs—inflation measures like the Consumer Price Index (CPI) are exceeding the tax levy limit—combined with flat state aid are creating a "squeeze" on the budget. "Much of the challenge in creating a budget is about taking so many amazing ideas and priorities and requests, knowing you can't fund all of them," Superintendent Walker said. {{quote:170}} Walker emphasized that despite the financial pressure, the administration views the upcoming budget as a milestone. He described it as the "culminating aspect" of a staffing and structural plan launched three years ago alongside the district’s "Vision Map." "We see this budget as the culminating aspect of the Staffing and [Vision] plan that we had a plan three years ago when we created it in terms of how to staff it to provide the kinds of opportunities that we think are able to rise to the moment... and the vision that that document puts forth for our community," Walker said. {{quote:260}} **The Price of Operations** Following the Superintendent’s remarks, Assistant Business Manager Kelly Lent guided the Board through the General Support budget, which covers administrative salaries, insurance, and legal services. A significant portion of the discussion focused on rising non-instructional costs. The Board budgeted an additional $6,000 for Fiscal Agent fees. The increase is necessary because the district intends to bond its capital projects, moving away from bond anticipation notes. "We have noted a huge increase in our FOIL requests over the previous year from '22-'23 to '23-'24 [of] approximately 42%," Lent said, explaining the need for increased legal spending. "All of those small requests do go with the attorneys prior to being sent out." {{quote:1070}} **A Different View of Budget Transfers** Board members requested transparency regarding how the current budget has evolved since its adoption last May. While state requirements mandate presenting the "adopted" budget alongside the "proposed" budget, trustees argued that showing budget transfers made during the year would give the public a clearer picture of actual spending. "I think it is helpful to the board to not only look at the adopted budget as of May 2024 but also how that has been revised by budget transfers," a board member commented. "It's a better opportunity for us to understand what we're doing and what changes are made." {{quote:430}} Lent clarified that the current presentation format is required by state law, but agreed to provide the supplementary data to ensure the community understands how funds have been shifted in real-time to address specific needs, such as tax certiorari settlements. **What Comes Next** The meeting marked the first deep dive into the "nuts and bolts" of the district's finances. While the Vision Map provides the philosophical direction for the district, administrators stressed that budgets for transportation, grounds, and maintenance are the foundation that allows educational innovation to happen safely. The Board will continue to refine these numbers in the coming weeks before the budget is adopted in April and put to voters in May. The next phase of the budget review will likely center on instructional staffing and programming, which Walker noted is now finally aligned with the strategic goals set out years ago.