The Croton-Harmon Board of Education navigated a tight state deadline to approve the district’s financial audit during their October 10 meeting, while also facing emotional public comments regarding the safety of Jewish students in the district. The board accepted the independent auditor's report for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. While the district received a "clean" or unmodified opinion—which is the best possible rating—auditors did flag a handful of procedural "control deficiencies" regarding how quickly money is deposited. "We sample both the extra classroom activity receipts and the district's receipts," an external auditor told the board. "In one case, three deposits that were not deposited timely and in the other case, there was one that deposit was not deposited timely. These are known as control deficiencies and for the most part it's information that we required to present to the board so they're aware." {{quote:00}} Despite these minor timing issues, the board moved quickly to approve the draft report to ensure it could be filed with New York State by the October 15 deadline. The board originally received the draft report only hours before the meeting. State guidelines require the board to approve the audit, but the final documentation wasn't ready. To avoid missing the deadline and being flagged as late by the state, board members debated whether to vote immediately or wait for a special meeting. "The recommendation of the audit committee is to [accept] the resolution on the table today that seems reasonable," a board member said. "I just didn't want that if you had questions or... well the auditor said the audit itself isn't going to change." {{quote:00}} Ultimately, the board authorized the resolution to accept the audit, allowing the Superintendent to submit the necessary data to the state by the deadline. Superintendent of Business Deborah B. (formerly referenced in context with the business office) and the business office staff were commended for their work. "Unqualified audit opinion like this doesn't happen by accident and so I want to thank and recognize [the business office] for outstanding leadership and... a big shout out to the team for great work on the audit," a board member said. {{quote:00}} **Public Concerns Over Student Safety** During the public comment portion, the meeting shifted from financial spreadsheets to student safety. Two representatives from "Parents Against School Antisemitism" (PASA), a grassroots organization formed in May, addressed the board to present data from a recent survey of its members. Michelle, a resident and founder of PASA, told the board that the group now includes 167 members, approximately 75% of whom are parents of current students. She cited recent external threats against local synagogues as evidence that the district needs to act more urgently. "We do not live in a vacuum. In the past year [there were] over 10,000 incidents [of] antisemitism in the US... and this just this past Monday you learned from our local synagogue that law enforcement was acting upon credible [threats] that threats made against synagogues," Michelle said. {{quote:00}} PASA presented four recommendations to the board during a September meeting but stated they are still waiting for a formal response. Those recommendations include adopting the International Holocaust Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, educating faculty and staff on it, creating a transparent tracking system for hate incidents, and adding curriculum focused on civil discourse. "Alice Samuels," a co-founder of PASA, presented findings from the group's spring report. She claimed that 100% of respondents felt the district administration (SHA) does not have a good understanding of antisemitism. "SHA's inability to identify antisemitism, its dismissive response to concerns and ambiguous articulation of antisemitism in its DEI policy draft is eroding trust," Samuels said. {{quote:00}} The group expressed urgency regarding the district's response plan. **Board Retreat and Upcoming Events** In his report, Board President noted that the district is currently in full swing, with back-to-school nights completed and parent conferences upcoming. The board is scheduled to hold its second retreat on October 15. The primary focus of this retreat will be to develop norms and practices for the board and to establish specific goals for the 2024-2025 school year. The board will also attend the New York State School Boards Association conference in New York City from October 20-22. Additionally, the district will be involved with the annual Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger on Sunday, October 20, with Croton-Harmon High School hosting activities for the event.