Croton Voters OK School District Budget By 'Significant Margin'

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY — Croton-Harmon school district voters went to the polls Tuesday and approved a $56.17 million budget for 2023-24 that represented a 6.6 increase in spending.

The tally was 748 YES votes and 138 NO votes, which district officials called a "significant margin" in their announcement on the website.

"This year we not only presented the community with an operating budget, we shared a vision for what our schools can be," said Superintendent Stephen Walker. "That vision focuses on advancing innovation by placing passion, curiosity, and inspiration at the center of what we do while creating a culture of well-being for all members of our school district community."

There were two other propositions on the ballot; both were approved.

Proposition 2 asked voters to approve the purchase of five vehicles using existing funds and reserves, with no impact to taxes and no additional debt incurred. The district’s CHUFSD Vehicle Capital Reserve will be used to purchase one (1) 66-passenger electric school bus, plus additional funds to pay for infrastructure and charging station improvements. There would be no impact to taxes and no additional debt would be incurred.

Proposition 3 was for the library, asking voters to approve a levy in the amount of $937,822 in support of the Croton Free Library.

Three seats on the Croton-Harmon Board of Education were up for election. The candidates were Trustees Neal Haber and Sarah Carrier — seeking re-election — and Anamika Bhatnagar.