State of the School District: Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Summary Perspective

Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District is a small, structurally stable district operating under conventional governance with a capacity pressure point at its middle school. The story here is one of sustainability and physical-plant management, not turnaround, governance transition, or fiscal crisis. The district enrolls 1,589 students (2023-24) across three schools, each the sole building serving its grade span: Hillside Elementary for kindergarten through grade 4, Farragut Middle School for grades 5 through 8, and Hastings High School for grades 9 through 12. This single-school-per-grade-span model means there is no within-district school choice, no competing attendance zones, and no between-building variation to evaluate. A given address produces a deterministic K-12 path through all three buildings.

The district's academic position, as captured by the data on file, is defined by Advanced Placement results from 2023-24 and a graduation rate from 2019-20. AP proficiency rates ranged from 62.5 percent in AP Environmental Science (grade 11) to 100 percent in AP Chemistry (grade 11), with most reported values falling between 75 and 91 percent. The four-year graduation rate for the 2019-20 cohort of 123 students was reported as a suppressed range of 95 to 100 percent. The Student Growth Index for 2024-25 was 46.6, meaning the average student grew slightly below the median rate relative to academic peers statewide. These measures capture different things: AP rates reflect a self-selected subset of test-takers, the graduation rate predates the pandemic's full effects, and the growth index measures relative progress, not absolute proficiency. The district's accountability designation for 2025-26 is Local Support and Improvement, meaning no school in the district was identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement, Additional Targeted Support and Improvement, or Targeted Support and Improvement.

The single most decision-relevant contextual fact is the documented 20 percent instructional-space shortage at Farragut Middle School, with a cafeteria sized at half the needed capacity, which has prompted a capital bond for an addition. This does not alter the assignment mechanism but means the building students are assigned to in grades 5 through 8 is operating under documented space constraints that the district is working to address through construction. The fiscal picture reinforces the sustainability framing: FY2023 revenue was approximately $56.7 million against expenditures of approximately $57.1 million, with 82.2 percent of revenue drawn from local sources. The 2026-27 adopted budget of $65,947,830 was approved by voters and draws on $3,025,000 in appropriated fund balance and reserves to bridge the gap between recurring revenues and total appropriations. The district operates under a five-member elected Board of Education with no non-standard governance arrangement, no state takeover, and no receivership.

This report describes what is true about the district and lets families decide. It does not rate, rank, or recommend.

Key takeaways for families

• The district operates one school per grade span, meaning a given address produces a deterministic K-12 path through Hillside Elementary, Farragut Middle School, and Hastings High School with no within-district choice or competing attendance zones.
• AP proficiency rates in 2023-24 ranged from 62.5 percent in Environmental Science to 100 percent in Chemistry, but these figures reflect only students who sat for the exams, not the full grade-level cohort.
• The four-year graduation rate for the 2019-20 cohort of 123 students was reported as a suppressed range of 95 to 100 percent, which is the most recent graduation data on file and predates the pandemic's full effects on instruction.
• The Student Growth Index for 2024-25 was 46.6, meaning the average student grew slightly below the median rate relative to academic peers statewide, though this measures relative progress rather than absolute proficiency.
• Farragut Middle School has a documented 20 percent instructional-space shortage with a cafeteria sized at half the needed capacity, and the district has planned a capital bond for an addition to address this shortfall.
• No boundary change, redistricting study, or closure or consolidation process was active as of July 24, 2026, and the single-school-per-grade-span structure means there are no internal attendance zones to redraw.
• FY2023 revenue was approximately $56.7 million against expenditures of approximately $57.1 million, with 82.2 percent of revenue drawn from local sources, reflecting the district's dependence on local property taxes.
• The 2026-27 adopted budget of $65,947,830 was approved by voters 1,127 to 346 and draws on $3,025,000 in appropriated fund balance and reserves to close the gap between recurring revenues and total appropriations.
• The district's accountability designation for 2025-26 is Local Support and Improvement, with zero schools identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement, Additional Targeted Support and Improvement, or Targeted Support and Improvement.
• The district accepts some nonresident students through discretionary, tuition-based admission on a space-available basis, and budgets for residency investigations to verify that enrolled students genuinely reside within district boundaries.
• No specific municipal-context finding beyond the district's boundaries is relevant to school assignment: the district encompasses the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson and part of the Town of Greenburgh, and the school tax is collected by the Town of Greenburgh on behalf of the district.

At a glance

The table below summarizes current-state signals for Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District. Numeric values come from computed data on file or from the body sections of this report. Where a data point is not available in the computed dataset or body sections, the table states "Not available" rather than estimating or omitting the row.

The graduation rate row carries a 2019-20 label because that is the most recent graduation data on file, and it is several years old. The per-pupil spending figure comes from the US Census Bureau Annual Survey of School System Finances for FY2023, which is also the most recent federal finance data available. The accountability status reflects the New York State Education Department's 2025-26 support model determinations. The advanced-access signal summarizes the district's self-reported AP course count and the dual-enrollment partnerships described on its published materials, none of which are independently verified in the computed dataset.

How to read New York accountability

New York State's accountability system classifies schools and districts into tiers based on multiple indicators. The most intensive designation is Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), applied to schools identified as among the lowest performing in the state. Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) applies to schools where one or more student subgroups are consistently underperforming. Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) is a related designation for specific subgroup performance concerns. Districts and schools not receiving any of these designations fall under Local Support and Improvement, meaning they receive support through local channels rather than through required state-led interventions. The state's accountability overview describes these categories in detail.

The state's growth measure, the Student Growth Index, is built from Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs). An SGP compares an individual student's current-year performance to that of students statewide who had similar prior-year scores, as described in the state's growth measure documentation. A growth percentile of 50 means the student grew at the median rate relative to that peer group. The district-level index is the sum of all individual SGPs divided by the number of SGPs, yielding an average growth percentile. This measure captures growth relative to prior achievement, not absolute proficiency.

New York's tax levy limit constrains the annual growth in a school district's property tax levy. If a district proposes a budget that would exceed the allowable levy growth factor, 60 percent of voters must approve the budget for it to pass at that level. If a budget is defeated by voters, the Board of Education may resubmit a revised budget or adopt a contingency budget under New York Education Law section 2023, which cannot result in a tax levy greater than the prior year's levy. New York authorizes charter schools under state law. The state does not operate a universal interdistrict open enrollment program.

For Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District specifically, the 2025-26 accountability designation is Local Support and Improvement, with zero schools identified for CSI, ATSI, or TSI, as shown in the state accountability determinations. The district's Student Growth Index for 2024-25 was 46.6, based on 1,101 student growth percentiles, meaning the average student grew slightly below the median rate relative to academic peers statewide. The district's 2026-27 budget was approved by voters, 1,127 in favor to 346 opposed. The district does not host any charter schools within its boundaries, and it does not publish an interdistrict open-enrollment transfer-out policy, though it does accept some nonresident students through discretionary, tuition-based admission on a space-available basis.

What kind of district this is: governance and geography

Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District is a union free school district organized under Article 35 of the New York Education Law. Its legal name is "Hastings-On-Hudson Union Free School District," and the National Center for Education Statistics classifies it as a "Regular local school district" with NCES LEA ID 3613950. The district serves grades K-12 and enrolled 1,589 students in the 2023-24 school year. It operates three schools, all listed as open in the NCES Common Core of Data: Hillside Elementary School, Farragut Middle School, and Hastings High School. Because the district operates its own high school serving grades 9 through 12, it does not tuition students out to another district for secondary education, nor does it receive tuition students from a K-8 feeder district. The district is not part of any feeder system.

District type and what it means

Under New York law, a union free school district is a specific statutory category. It is distinct from a central school district, which is organized under different provisions of the Education Law, and from a common school district, which historically served only elementary grades. The "union free" designation means the district was formed by uniting one or more common school districts and was authorized to operate a full program including high school grades. In practical terms, this means the district has the authority to operate all grade levels from kindergarten through twelfth grade within a single governance structure, which is what Hastings-on-Hudson does. The district's headquarters are in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, in Westchester County, New York. The district's about page provides additional organizational information.

Taxing authority

The Board of Education of the district levies the school tax. This authority derives from New York Education Law provisions governing school district taxation, specifically sections 2022 and 2023. The tax is not collected by the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson; rather, the Town of Greenburgh collects the school tax on behalf of the district. This division of responsibility is common in New York, where school districts are separate units of government from the municipalities they overlap, and tax collection is frequently handled at the town level rather than by the village or the school district itself. The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson maintains its own property tax information separately, but the school tax is a distinct levy imposed by the school district's Board of Education, not by the village government.

Budget approval and the contingency mechanism

The district's annual budget is subject to voter approval. Residents of the district vote on the proposed budget at the annual budget vote and school board election. The district publishes budget information for public review ahead of the vote, giving residents an opportunity to examine proposed expenditures and revenue projections before casting a ballot.

If voters defeat the proposed budget, the Board of Education has two options under New York Education Law section 2023. First, the board may resubmit a revised budget for a second vote by district residents. If the revised budget is also defeated, or if the board chooses not to resubmit, the board must adopt a contingency budget. A contingency budget is a constrained spending plan that cannot result in a tax levy greater than the prior school year's levy. Under the contingency mechanism, certain expenditures classified as non-essential are removed from the budget. The practical effect is that programs, staffing, or services that depend on budget growth beyond the prior year's levy may face reduction or elimination. This mechanism creates a direct link between voter outcomes at the ballot box and the fiscal parameters within which the district must operate in the following year. A contingency budget does not mean the district stops operating; it means the district must function within the prior year's levy ceiling, which constrains its ability to fund new initiatives, absorb cost increases, or maintain existing programs at prior levels.

Board of Education: composition and elections

The district is governed by a five-member Board of Education. Board members are elected to three-year terms in at-large elections, meaning each member is elected by the voters of the entire district rather than by a geographic subdistrict or ward. All seats are elected; there are no appointed members. The next scheduled board election is May 18, 2027. Board elections are held in conjunction with the annual budget vote, so voters consider both the budget and any open board seats on the same ballot.

The at-large structure means that every board member is accountable to the same electorate: the voters of the entire school district. There are no geographic representation requirements within the district, and no board member is elected to represent a specific neighborhood or zone. This structure is common for smaller New York districts where the entire district falls within a compact geographic area. The five-member composition means that a majority of three votes is sufficient to approve board actions, including budget resolutions, policy adoption, and the appointment of district leadership.

Municipalities served and boundary independence

The district's boundaries encompass the entirety of the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson and part of the Town of Greenburgh. This means that some residents of the Town of Greenburgh who live outside the village limits are nonetheless within the school district's boundaries and pay school taxes to the district, vote on its budget, and are eligible to vote in board elections. The Town of Greenburgh contains multiple school districts, as reflected on the town's schools page, and only a portion of the town falls within the Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District. The district's boundary does not coincide exactly with any single municipal boundary.

A key feature of New York school district governance is that school district boundaries are independent of municipal boundaries. If the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson or the Town of Greenburgh were to change its municipal boundaries through annexation or incorporation, that change would not automatically alter the school district's boundary. The school district boundary is a separate legal entity that can only be changed through a distinct statutory process described below.

Boundary change mechanism

Under New York Education Law section 1501, only the New York Commissioner of Education has the authority to alter the boundaries of a union free school district. The process requires several sequential steps. First, a petition must be filed by the board of education or by voters of the affected district or districts. Second, the Commissioner must find that the proposed change is in the best interests of the students affected. Third, the change must be approved by a majority of voters of the affected district or districts in an election called specifically for that purpose. Related provisions in section 2218 address central school district formation and partition of territory, but the core mechanism for altering this particular district's boundaries runs through section 1501.

This means that boundary changes are not initiated by the district alone, nor by municipal governments, nor by real estate developers or individual property owners seeking to move from one district to another. The process requires state-level review, a finding regarding student welfare, and voter approval. The multi-step nature of this process means that school district boundaries in New York tend to remain unchanged over long periods, and alterations are uncommon.

Non-standard governance

No state takeover, receivership, mayoral control, or other non-standard governance arrangement applies to this district. The district operates under a conventional elected Board of Education with no external appointing authority. NCES lists the district as "Open" status, confirming it is an active operating district. The district's official website provides information about its programs, schools, and operations.

Feeder structure

Because the district operates a full K-12 program with its own high school, there is no feeder mechanism. Students who attend elementary and middle school in the district continue to Hastings High School for grades 9 through 12 without transitioning to a different district. The district does not tuition students out to other districts for high school, and it does not receive tuition students from K-8 districts that lack their own high school. The three schools in the district, listed on the district's schools page, serve as the complete educational pipeline for students residing within the district's boundaries. Hillside Elementary School and Farragut Middle School feed directly into Hastings High School within the same district governance and fiscal structure.

Academic outcomes: the evidence base

The computed assessment data for Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District comprises 59 series with metadata indicating coverage from 2006 through 2025, sourced from New York State assessment records processed through the state's data reporting system. The detailed proficiency values available in the computed dataset cover Advanced Placement (AP) examinations administered in the 2023-24 school year, across multiple subjects and grade levels. This section separates the current level of measured performance from any trajectory over time, identifies where data is absent, and explains what each metric does and does not capture.

What the AP proficiency data shows

In the 2023-24 school year, the district reported AP exam proficiency rates across several subjects. Proficiency on an AP examination means the test-taker scored 3 or higher on the College Board's 1-to-5 scale. A score of 3 is generally the threshold at which colleges may grant credit or placement, though institutional policies vary widely. The proficiency rate expresses the share of students who took a given exam and achieved that threshold, not the share of all enrolled students who did so. The district's AP examination information describes the testing program from the school's perspective.

The reported rates for 2023-24 are as follows. In AP Biology, 80.0% of 11th-grade test-takers and 75.0% of 12th-grade test-takers achieved proficiency. In AP Calculus AB, 90.9% of 12th-grade test-takers achieved proficiency; the 11th-grade rate was not reported. In AP Chemistry, 100.0% of 11th-grade test-takers and 87.5% of 12th-grade test-takers achieved proficiency. In AP Computer Science Principles, 87.5% of 11th-grade test-takers achieved proficiency; rates for 10th and 12th grades were not reported. In AP Environmental Science, 62.5% of 11th-grade test-takers achieved proficiency. Several additional series, including AP Comparative Government and Politics and AP Computer Science A, returned missing values for the grades reported, meaning no proficiency rate is available for those subject-grade combinations in this dataset.

These rates describe outcomes only for students who sat for the exams. They do not indicate what share of the total grade-level cohort took an AP exam, nor do they reflect the district's AP course offerings, enrollment policies, or access patterns. A high proficiency rate in a subject with few test-takers carries a different meaning from the same rate in a subject with broad participation. The dataset does not include participation counts, so the rates cannot be contextualized by the number of students each percentage represents.

Trajectory and the pandemic gap

The assessment series metadata indicates coverage from 2006 through 2025, with data points listed in the years 2006 through 2017 and AP proficiency data from 2023-24. The year 2020 is absent from the record because New York State cancelled its Regents examinations and state assessments in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This cancellation created a structural gap in the longitudinal record. Any comparison of pre-pandemic and post-pandemic performance must account for this interruption, as well as for the disruption to instruction that preceded and followed it. The state's accountability data portal provides the framework through which these years are reported.

The detailed AP proficiency values available are from a single year, 2023-24, which limits what can be said about trajectory from the computed data alone. The district's own trend commentary, reported through the state accountability system, provides directional claims that the district attributes to its internal analysis. According to the district's own figures, proficiency gaps are closing by the time students reach high school. The district also reports that middle school mathematics performance has shown general improvement over the past few years, that Algebra I Regents performance has increased since 2022, that Earth Science performance shows a slight decline over time, and that Global History performance declined compared with the preceding year. These are self-reported characterizations of trend, not independently computed values from the dataset on file. They describe the district's reading of its own data, and the underlying values are not present in the computed series.

Student growth

For the 2024-25 school year, the state computed a Student Growth Index for the district based on 1,101 student growth percentiles (SGPs), with a sum of 51,309 and a resulting index of 46.6. An SGP compares an individual student's current-year performance to that of students statewide who had similar prior-year scores, as described in the state's growth measure documentation. A growth percentile of 50 means the student grew at the median rate relative to that peer group. The district-level index is the sum of all individual SGPs divided by the number of SGPs, yielding an average growth percentile. An index of 46.6 means the average student in the district grew slightly below the median rate of their academic peers statewide. This measure captures growth relative to prior achievement, not absolute proficiency, so a district with high absolute performance can still have a below-median growth index if students are not advancing faster than comparable peers.

Graduation

The most recent graduation data on file is from the 2019-20 school year, sourced from EDFacts ACGR via the Urban Institute Education Data API. The cohort size was 123 students. The four-year graduation rate was reported as a suppressed range of 95 to 100 percent, meaning the exact rate was not disclosed, likely due to small-sample privacy protections. No midpoint should be inferred from this range. This data predates the pandemic's full effects on instruction and assessment, and no more recent graduation data is available in the computed dataset. The 2019-20 label must accompany any reference to this figure.

Chronic absenteeism

In the 2022-23 school year, the district's chronic absenteeism rate was 9.2 percent, sourced from EDFacts Data Group 814. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of enrolled school days, whether excused or unexcused, according to state guidance on attendance reporting. This rate represents the share of all enrolled students who met that threshold. The district also reported chronic absenteeism data for 2024-25 through the state accountability system, though the specific rate for that year is not in the computed dataset.

Accountability status

Under the New York State Education Department's 2025-26 support model, the district is designated as "Local Support and Improvement," as shown in the state accountability determinations. This designation means the district and its schools were not identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI), or Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI). Zero schools in the district carry any of those improvement designations for 2025-26. Under this model, the district receives support through local channels rather than through required state-led interventions, as outlined in the state's support model overview.

What the data does not capture

Several categories of data that families may expect are absent from the computed dataset. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, which is often used as a proxy for economic disadvantage, is reported as missing for this district. Individualized Education Program (IEP) enrollment, which indicates the share of students receiving special education services, is also missing. English learner enrollment is missing as well. The AP proficiency series includes only an "all students" group; no subgroup breakdowns by race, ethnicity, economic status, disability status, or English learner status are available in the computed data for these exams. This means the dataset cannot speak to whether outcomes differ across student subgroups on AP examinations.

The enrollment data for 2023-24 does include race and ethnicity counts, sourced from NCES CCD records: 1,105 white students, 226 Hispanic students, 136 students of two or more races, 70 Asian students, 34 Black students, 6 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and 1 American Indian or Alaska Native student, out of a total enrollment of 1,589. These figures describe who is enrolled but cannot be cross-referenced with assessment outcomes in the available data.

The AP exams measure mastery of college-level course content in specific subjects as defined by the College Board. They are not state-designed assessments. New York's core state assessment program consists of Regents exams in high school and grades 3-8 tests in English language arts and mathematics, but detailed proficiency values from those assessments are not present in the computed series shown here. The state assessment system measures performance against state learning standards at specific grade levels and in specific subjects. It does not measure curriculum breadth beyond tested subjects, college readiness beyond AP exam performance, social-emotional outcomes, extracurricular participation, or post-secondary enrollment and persistence. The AP data captures a self-selected subset of students who chose to take AP exams, and the graduation data captures a cohort that entered high school before the pandemic. Each metric answers a narrow question, and the absence of more recent or more granular data limits the conclusions that can be drawn from any single measure.

Inside the district: variation between schools

The Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District operates three schools, each serving a distinct grade band: Hillside Elementary School, Farragut Middle School, and Hastings High School. Total district enrollment was 1,589 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to NCES CCD data. Because each school covers a different segment of the K-12 continuum, the district has no parallel schools serving the same grades. There is no second elementary school to compare against Hillside, no second middle school to compare against Farragut, and no second high school to compare against Hastings. This structural fact shapes everything a family can and cannot learn from outcome data about variation within this district.

When a district contains only one school per grade band, the concept of between-school variation largely dissolves. A district-level proficiency rate for, say, grade 7 mathematics is also Farragut Middle School's grade 7 mathematics rate, because Farragut is the only school in the district serving that grade. There is no second building whose results would pull the district average up or down. The district average cannot conceal a spread between buildings because there is only one building generating the result. This is different from a district with four elementary schools, where a single district average might mask one school scoring well above another. Here, the district figure and the school figure are, for most practical purposes, the same figure.

The assessment data available for this district reflects this reality. The computed assessment series include Advanced Placement proficiency rates for the 2023-24 school year across several subjects, all reported at the district level. AP Biology showed an 80.0 percent proficiency rate for grade 11 and 75.0 percent for grade 12. AP Calculus AB showed 90.9 percent for grade 12, with grade 11 missing. AP Chemistry showed 100.0 percent for grade 11 and 87.5 percent for grade 12. AP Computer Science Principles showed 87.5 percent for grade 11. AP Environmental Science showed 62.5 percent for grade 11. These figures pertain exclusively to high school coursework, and because Hastings High School is the district's sole high school, they represent that school's results directly. There is no second high school whose AP rates would create a within-district comparison point.

For the elementary and middle school levels, the computed data does not include school-by-school proficiency breakdowns in the assessment series provided. The district's race and ethnicity enrollment data, reported for 2023-24, is also available only at the district level: 1,105 white students (69.5 percent), 226 Hispanic students (14.2 percent), 136 students of two or more races (8.6 percent), 70 Asian students (4.4 percent), 34 Black students (2.1 percent), 6 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students (0.4 percent), and 1 American Indian or Alaska Native student (0.06 percent). These figures describe the district as a whole. Without school-level enrollment breakdowns, one cannot determine from the computed data how the student population is distributed across the three buildings, though the natural inference is that younger grades concentrate at Hillside, middle grades at Farragut, and upper grades at Hastings.

The acquired research provides additional context about recognition at individual schools. Hastings High School was named a U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School in both the 2001-02 and 2017 award cycles. Hillside Elementary School received the same recognition in 2022. Farragut Middle School does not appear in the Blue Ribbon records provided. These awards are historical designations, not current performance metrics, and they span two decades. A family examining this district should understand that the three schools have each received federal recognition at different points, but the award criteria and cohorts differ by year, making direct comparison between the recognitions imprecise.

The high school-level outcomes from the acquired research further illustrate the single-school dynamic. Hastings High School reports a 95.5 percent college enrollment rate for the Class of 2024-2025, with 94.5 percent enrolling in four-year institutions, according to the school's own figures. The school also reports SAT scores of 649 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 637 in Math for the Class of 2025, along with an ACT composite of 28.9 and five National Merit Finalists in that same class. These are self-reported figures from Hastings High School, and because there is no other high school in the district, they represent the entirety of the district's secondary outcomes. There is no within-district high school comparison to draw.

What this means practically is that a family evaluating this district cannot shop between buildings for a given grade band. The question of variation between schools does not apply in the way it would in a larger district with multiple elementary or middle schools. Instead, the relevant questions shift to other dimensions: how outcomes change as a cohort progresses from Hillside to Farragut to Hastings, whether the district's reported results are consistent across grade levels over time, and how the single-school-per-band structure affects class size, course offerings, and program continuity. The assessment series on file spans from 2006 through 2025, which allows examination of trends within the district over time, even though between-school comparison within a single year is not a meaningful frame for this district's structure.

Advanced academics and pathway access

Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District serves approximately 1,589 students across three schools (2023-24 enrollment). The district's advanced academics infrastructure centers on Advanced Placement coursework at the high school, a single acceleration point in middle school mathematics, and several university-linked dual-enrollment options that define the academic ceiling. No International Baccalaureate program appears on any district or school website reviewed for this report.

Grade 8 Algebra I placement

Farragut Middle School publishes two Grade 8 mathematics pathways: Math 8 and high-school-credit Algebra I. The middle school's mathematics page states that accelerated students take a high school Algebra course, which earns credit toward graduation requirements. However, the reviewed official materials do not specify the placement mechanism. They do not state whether entry into Algebra I is automatic for students meeting a grade threshold, determined by a standardized test, based on teacher recommendation, or open to any student who requests it. The district does not publish a rubric, score cutoff, or timeline for the placement decision in the materials available on the Farragut Middle School mathematics offerings page. This absence means families cannot determine from public documents alone how the pathway assignment is made or what criteria govern it.

The US Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2021-22 school year includes Algebra I enrollment data for the district, aggregated across three schools. The collection captures participation in Algebra I by demographic subgroup, but the district's published materials do not cross-reference these figures or provide a narrative explanation of placement patterns.

Gifted identification

The Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2021-22 school year collected gifted and talented enrollment data for the district across three schools. The district's own website and reviewed board materials do not describe a formal gifted and talented identification process, a screening grade, a referral mechanism, or an appeals procedure. No Hastings-on-Hudson board policy on gifted education appears in the reviewed materials. The absence of a publicly described identification method means families cannot determine from available documents whether the district operates a designated gifted program, how students enter it, or whether it exists at all.

Advanced Placement breadth and results

Hastings High School's 2025-26 school profile reports 17 distinct Advanced Placement courses. According to the district's own figures for 2025, 221 students took 514 AP exams, with a mean score of 3.6 and 79 percent of exams earning a score of 3 or higher. These results are self-reported by Hastings High School on its school profile document.

The Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2021-22 school year records AP enrollment by demographic subgroup across the district's three schools. The data show the following AP enrollment counts by race and ethnicity: 19 Hispanic students (11 male, 8 female), 15 Asian students (4 male, 11 female), 5 Black students (1 male, 4 female), 135 White students (68 male, 67 female), and 16 students of two or more races (6 male, 10 female). The collection also records 3 students with Individualized Education Programs and 27 students with Section 504 plans among AP participants. No American Indian or Alaska Native students and no Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students were recorded in AP enrollment for that year.

The academic ceiling: dual enrollment and research

The highest-level academic pathway available to Hastings High School students extends beyond AP coursework through several university partnerships. Syracuse University's Project Advance (SUPA) offers college credit in English and history courses, with approximate fees of $600 for SUPA English and $600 to $700 for SUPA history, according to course materials. SUPA Learning Strategies offers three additional credits. The University at Albany's University in the High School (UHS) program provides credit options in upper-level world language courses. Rochester Institute of Technology offers a credit option through Project Lead The Way (PLTW) courses. The district does not explicitly state whether the student's family, the district, or another source pays these fees.

Hastings High School also lists a Science Research Program that includes a university partnership, though the district's published materials do not specify which universities participate, how students enter the program, or what the research commitment entails. The absence of entry criteria for this program means families cannot determine from public documents whether participation is selective, application-based, or open to interested students.

Detracking and honors policy changes

No evidence of a formal detracking proposal, an honors curriculum restructuring, or a tracked-versus-heterogeneous instruction debate appears in the reviewed district materials, board agendas, or school publications. The district has not publicly described any recent or pending changes to how honors, accelerated, or advanced sections are organized. If such discussions have occurred, they are not reflected in the documents available for review.

Enrollment, capacity, and boundaries: how stable is what you are buying

How an address becomes a school seat

The Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District operates a single-school-per-grade-span model. A child who lives within district boundaries registers through the Registrar's Office and is assigned to the one school serving their grade: Hillside Elementary for kindergarten through grade 4, Farragut Middle School for grades 5 through 8, and Hastings High School for grades 9 through 12. There is no same-grade lottery, no intra-district choice process, and no competing elementary zone from which a family must select. The district publishes no resident sibling-preference rules, which is consistent with the fact that only one school serves each grade span, making such a preference unnecessary for assignment purposes.

This structure means that a given address does not produce a choice among schools but rather a deterministic path through all three buildings. The district confirms that students progress from Hillside to Farragut to Hastings High, subject to continued residency. In practical terms, the address a family buys determines the entire K-12 sequence, not just an elementary placement, because there are no alternative feeder paths within the district.

Enrollment size and composition

The district enrolled 1,589 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to NCES Common Core of Data processed through the SchoolDecision profile corpus. That enrollment is distributed across three buildings, though the computed data does not break down headcount by school.

The racial and ethnic composition of the 2023-24 enrollment, as reported through the same NCES data, was as follows: 1,105 white students (69.5 percent), 226 Hispanic students (14.2 percent), 136 students of two or more races (8.6 percent), 70 Asian students (4.4 percent), 34 Black students (2.1 percent), 6 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students (0.4 percent), and 1 American Indian or Alaska Native student (0.06 percent). Free and reduced-price lunch counts and rates are not available in the computed data. Individualized Education Program counts and English learner counts are likewise reported as missing in the data on file.

Capacity pressure by building

The most consequential capacity finding on record concerns Farragut Middle School. A 2025 utilization report identified a 20 percent instructional-space shortage at the Farragut Middle School and Farragut Complex, with all rooms in use and a shared cafeteria that was 50 percent undersized. The district has planned an addition to address this shortfall through a capital bond. The capital bond information is published on the district's bond information page, and a detailed bond document is available from the district's resources site.

No comparable capacity-shortage findings were reported for Hillside Elementary or Hastings High School in the research on file. The absence of a reported shortage at those buildings does not constitute a finding of surplus space; it means the sourced materials reviewed did not identify or quantify a capacity concern at those locations.

Enrollment drivers cited by the district

The district's own budget presentations identify three factors affecting enrollment and staffing. First, special-education enrollment shifts were affecting the budget, according to the 2025-26 Non-Instructional Budget presentation dated February 11, 2025. Second, new English Language learners drove additional ENL staffing, according to the Instructional Budget presentation dated March 11, 2025. Third, the same March 2025 instructional budget presentation acknowledged that students had left the district due to gaps in middle-school MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and reading support.

These statements come from the February 2025 budget presentation and the March 2025 budget presentation. They describe specific pressures the district says it is managing, not a comprehensive enrollment forecast. A long-run enrollment series is not available on file, so these statements should be read as directional indicators from district officials rather than as data points in a documented trend.

Boundary and redistricting activity

No active boundary change, redistricting study, or closure or consolidation process was found as of July 24, 2026. The research explicitly checked the following sources and found no relevant activity: official 2024-25 Board meeting schedules and notices, official 2025-26 Board meeting schedules and notices, the district's BoardDocs public portal searched for terms related to boundary, redistricting, and closure, State of the District materials, and the Capital Bond implementation hub. The district's BoardDocs public portal, 2024-25 meeting schedule, 2025-26 meeting schedule, and State of the District reports were among the sources reviewed.

This is a confident null, not an absence of evidence. The district operates one school per grade span, which means there are no elementary attendance zones to redraw. A traditional redistricting process, in which attendance boundaries among multiple elementary schools are adjusted to rebalance enrollment, has no structural analogue here because no such choice among buildings exists. The only building-level assignment question that could arise would be a closure or consolidation affecting one of the three schools, and no such process is active or under study according to the sources checked.

How boundaries could change and what would signal it

Although no boundary activity exists, the mechanism by which a change could occur is worth understanding. In a single-school-per-grade-span district, the relevant boundary is the district line itself, not internal attendance zones. Changes to the district boundary would require action under New York State education law, which governs school district reorganization, annexation, and dissolution. The New York State Education Department's residency page addresses residency rules but not district boundary alteration, which is a separate legal process.

Internal reorganization, if it ever became necessary, would most likely surface first in Board of Education meeting agendas and minutes, in State of the District reports, or in capital planning documents. The district publishes its board policies online, and the BoardDocs portal is the primary venue for public meeting materials. A family monitoring for early signals would watch for agenda items referencing capacity studies, enrollment projections, grade-span reconfiguration, or building utilization reviews. None of these appear in the materials reviewed through July 2026.

The capital bond planned for Farragut Middle School is the closest current signal of capacity-related physical change, but it addresses space within the existing grade-span structure rather than altering which students attend which building. An addition to Farragut would expand capacity at the same school serving the same grades, not reassign students to a different campus.

Residency verification and nonresident enrollment

The district budgets for residency investigations through a BOCES line item described as "Residency Investigation - Services," confirming that the district actively verifies whether enrolled students genuinely reside within its boundaries. This is a standard practice in New York districts, particularly those where per-pupil expenditure is high relative to neighboring areas, because nonresident enrollment without tuition represents a direct cost to the district's taxpayers.

The district does accept some nonresident students through discretionary, tuition-based admission, as described on its tuition-based registration page. This is offered on a space-available basis, with rates published by the Registrar's Office. Tuition students are admitted at the district's discretion and do not have the same claim to continued enrollment as resident students. No general interdistrict open-enrollment transfer-out policy is published. Programmatic out-of-district placements, such as those for special education services the district cannot provide in-house, occur separately from family-choice transfers.

Registration instructions for resident students are published on the Registrar's Office registration page.

Grandfathering policy

No specific grandfathering policy is published in the materials on file. In a district with one school per grade span and no active boundary changes, grandfathering, which typically allows students to remain at a school after a redistricting moves their address to a different zone, has no current application. If a boundary change or closure were ever proposed, the district's Board of Education would establish transition rules at that time. The absence of a published grandfathering policy today reflects the absence of a circumstance requiring one, not a gap in district governance.

What this means for stability

The structural stability of a school seat in Hastings-on-Hudson is high in one respect and under pressure in another. The assignment path is deterministic: one address produces one K-12 sequence through three buildings, with no competing zones and no lottery. The district boundary itself is stable, with no reorganization process active or under study. No closure or consolidation is contemplated.

The pressure point is physical capacity at Farragut Middle School, where a documented 20 percent instructional-space shortage and a cafeteria sized at half the needed capacity have prompted a capital bond for an addition. This does not threaten the assignment of resident students to Farragut, but it does mean the building they are assigned to is operating under documented space constraints that the district is working to address through construction. Families should understand that the capital bond process, if approved and completed, would change the physical plant at Farragut but not the fundamental assignment mechanism that ties a Hastings-on-Hudson address to a specific school sequence.

Fiscal health and the tax picture

In FY2023, the most recent year for which federal Census Bureau finance data is available, Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District reported total revenue of approximately $56.7 million and total expenditures of approximately $57.1 million across a membership of 1,622 students, according to the US Census Bureau Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33). Current spending, which excludes capital outlay and debt service, totaled approximately $53.2 million, or $32,798 per pupil. Of that amount, instruction-specific spending was $21,210 per pupil.

The revenue mix in FY2023 leaned heavily on local sources. Local revenue accounted for 82.2 percent of the total, or about $46.6 million. State aid contributed 16.4 percent, or about $9.3 million. Federal sources provided 1.4 percent, or about $814,000. This dependence on local property taxes is characteristic of Westchester County districts, where the state aid formula directs larger per-pupil allocations to districts with lower property wealth and smaller allocations to districts with higher property wealth.

Adopted budget and structural balance

The district's adopted budget for 2026-27 totals $65,947,830, a 5.57 percent increase over the 2025-26 budget of $62,465,988, according to the district's 2026-27 budget information. Voters approved the 2026-27 budget by a margin of 781 votes, with 1,127 in favor and 346 opposed, as recorded by the New York State Education Department's voting results database.

The district and its external auditor do not expressly describe the budget as structurally balanced. FY2025 ended with a $1,303,120 positive change in the General Fund, meaning actual revenues exceeded actual expenditures for that year. However, the 2026-27 adopted budget draws on $3,025,000 of appropriated fund balance and reserves to close the gap between recurring revenues and total appropriations. That sum includes $1.05 million in appropriated balance, $1.3 million from a retirement reserve, $575,000 from a tax-certiorari reserve, and $100,000 from a capital reserve, according to the district's 2026-27 budget document. Because these are one-time sources, budgeted recurring revenues alone do not cover all appropriations in the adopted spending plan.

No formal multiyear financial projection was found in the reviewed 2025-26 or 2026-27 budget materials. The district's 2024-25 special budget newsletter anticipated reduced state aid in coming years but did not quantify the expected reductions.

End of federal pandemic relief

The district's 2024-25 newsletter states that pandemic-related federal aid has ended. The newsletter describes the district's response as including early-retirement incentives, reassessing and consolidating positions rather than automatically replacing them, more precise staff deployment, and a 0.4-FTE reduction in music staffing. The reviewed documents do not quantify the dollar amount of the expired federal aid, nor do they identify which specific recurring positions had been funded by ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) dollars. The district maintains an American Rescue Plan Act page on its website.

Reserves and fund balance

New York State limits school districts' unassigned General Fund balance to 4 percent of the current year's budget, as described in guidance from the New York State Office of the State Comptroller. At June 30, 2025, the district reported an unassigned General Fund balance of $2,498,640, equal to approximately 4.00 percent of the $62,465,988 2025-26 adopted budget, placing it at the statutory ceiling.

The total General Fund balance has grown each year from 2021 through 2025. It stood at $10,190,566 in 2021, rose to $11,568,621 in 2022, to $11,858,385 in 2023, to $12,929,960 in 2024, and to $14,233,080 in 2025. The unassigned portion rose from $2,385,835 in 2024 to $2,498,640 in 2025. The difference between the total and unassigned balances reflects amounts restricted for specific purposes such as retirement obligations, tax certiorari claims, and capital projects.

Pension and OPEB obligations

At June 30, 2025, the district reported a $2,357,708 net pension liability under the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS) and a $3,781,915 net pension asset under the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). FY2025 contributions totaled $804,560 to ERS and $2,513,479 to TRS. The district's total Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability stood at $83,511,306 as of June 30, 2025, a decrease of $3,582,215 from the prior year. These figures appear in the district's external audit reports.

Debt and credit rating

As of May 20, 2026, the district had $16,685,000 in outstanding debt, according to a preliminary official statement for a planned bond anticipation note. That document also disclosed a planned $12,371,250 BAN issue not included in the outstanding debt figure. The FY2025 audit reports $1,550,341 of principal and $719,718 of interest, for $2,270,059 in total debt service, but does not publish a debt-service share of the budget.

Moody's assigned the district an Aa2 credit rating, most recently affirmed on February 7, 2022, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Tax levy limit position

For 2026-27, the district calculated a basic levy limit of $49,971,420 before exclusions and a total allowable levy of $51,729,181 after exclusions, according to the district's budget information. The adopted levy is $51,729,180, which is one dollar below the statutory limit, meaning a 60 percent supermajority override was not required.

New York's tax levy cap law generally limits annual levy growth to the lesser of 2 percent or the rate of inflation, subject to certain exclusions for capital construction and pension cost increases. If a district proposes a levy exceeding the calculated limit, 60 percent of voters must approve the budget rather than a simple majority. The district has not required a levy override in recent budget cycles. All annual budgets on record passed by simple majority.

How a household tax bill connects to the district levy

In New York, school districts do not set tax rates in isolation. The mechanism works in several steps. First, the school board adopts a budget that specifies a tax levy, which is the total dollar amount the district intends to collect from property owners. Second, voters approve or reject that budget at the annual May vote, subject to the levy cap rules described above. Third, Westchester County takes the approved levy and divides it by the total taxable assessed value of all properties within the district's boundaries to produce a tax rate, expressed as dollars per $1,000 of assessed value. Fourth, each property owner's school tax bill equals the assessed value of their property divided by 1,000, multiplied by that rate.

For 2025-26, the county-set school tax rate for Hastings-on-Hudson was $18.8488 per $1,000 of assessed value, according to Westchester County's published 2025-2026 school district tax rates. The district's 2026-27 budget estimate projects a rate of $18.41 per $1,000. Over five years, the rate has declined each year: from $21.7103 per $1,000 in 2021-22 to $21.1389 in 2022-23, $20.2905 in 2023-24, $19.5955 in 2024-25, and $18.8488 in 2025-26, based on county tax rate documents from 2022, 2023-24, and 2025-26. Over the same period, the total levy rose from $44,555,757 to $49,946,958.

The declining rate alongside a rising levy is possible when the total taxable assessed value of property in the district grows faster than the levy. As the tax base expands through new construction, redevelopment, or reassessment, the same levy can be spread across more value, reducing the rate per $1,000. However, an individual homeowner's bill depends on changes to their specific assessment, not just the district-wide rate. If a property's assessment rises while the rate falls, the bill can still increase.

Among neighboring districts, the 2025-26 rates were $19.9512 per $1,000 in Dobbs Ferry, $19.1951 in Irvington, $19.8388 in Ardsley, and $13.7778 in Greenburgh Central 7, according to the county's 2024-2025 school district tax rates.

Recent capital measures

On June 17, 2025, voters authorized a $38,475,495 capital program across three separate ballot questions, as reported by The Hudson Independent and the district's bond information page. The components were $11,254,780 for districtwide mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work tied to a Building Condition Survey; $19,049,465 for expansion of the Farragut complex and additional instructional space; and $8,171,250 for athletic improvements at the Burke Estate. The three questions passed with varying margins. The MEP work passed 2,556 to 276. The Farragut expansion passed 1,772 to 1,046. The Burke Estate athletics passed 1,440 to 1,369, a margin of 71 votes.

No stand-alone deferred-maintenance backlog total was identified in the reviewed district documents. The capital program authorized in June 2025 represents the district's most recent comprehensive facilities investment plan.

Commercial tax base concentration

The district's tax base includes several large commercial properties. Consolidated Edison holds the largest share, with $80,812,000 in assessed value representing 3.05 percent of the total roll, according to district budget documents. Blue River Valley LLC accounts for 2.44 percent at $64,681,500, and Veolia Water accounts for 0.95 percent at $25,188,000. The concentration of utility and commercial properties means that a portion of the levy is borne by non-residential taxpayers, though the majority of the tax base remains residential.

The municipal and land-use context

Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District operates under a governance structure that is independent of the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson and the Town of Greenburgh in a critical respect: the district's budget is proposed by its Board of Education and approved or rejected by district voters in an annual budget vote. No direct municipal-budget transmission mechanism was identified in the research. The district does not receive its operating funds through a Village or Town appropriation. This means that municipal fiscal decisions in the Village or Town do not flow through a municipal-to-school funding pipeline that would directly alter the district's spending authority. The district's budget information pages and 2026-27 budget materials describe the voter-approval mechanism that governs this process.

The proposed incorporation of the Village of Edgemont

The most significant municipal-structure change active in the surrounding area is the proposed incorporation of the Village of Edgemont, located within the Town of Greenburgh. This matter is ongoing as of the research date and involves multiple actors whose positions on fiscal implications are documented in public records. The research assigns this matter a relevance tier of "same_municipality_indirect" for Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD, meaning that the district is not a party to the proceeding and its territory, governance, enrollment, or school-tax base are not identified as changing. Any effect on district residents would be indirect, operating through Town-wide tax funds rather than through a change to the district's budget mechanism.

The actors in this proceeding include the Edgemont Incorporation Committee, the Town of Greenburgh, the Greenburgh Town Board, Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, and the Center for Governmental Research (CGR), a consulting organization that produced an impact analysis. The Edgemont Incorporation Committee filed its third petition seeking an incorporation vote on July 15, 2024. The Town noticed and held a public hearing on petition sufficiency and received objections on September 18, 2024. Town Supervisor Paul Feiner subsequently determined the petition to be legally insufficient under Village Law Article 2.

In an Article 78 proceeding, the Supreme Court, Westchester County, on March 6, 2026, reversed, vacated, and annulled the Supervisor's determination, declared the petition legally sufficient, and directed steps toward an incorporation election. The Town appealed. On April 13, 2026, the Appellate Division, Second Department, expedited the Town's appeals and set a briefing and perfection schedule, with appellants' deadline to perfect the appeals and file briefs set for May 4, 2026. The court's decision and order is available as a public document.

Each party's fiscal position is attributed to that party in the public record. The Greenburgh Town Board raises concerns about revenue loss and service impacts if Edgemont incorporates. The Town's report on possible impacts outlines likely effects of incorporation on municipal services. The Edgemont Incorporation Committee advocates cooperative intermunicipal service arrangements, arguing that such contracts can maintain services and avoid adverse taxpayer impacts. The committee's response to the CGR report elaborates this position. CGR presents modeled scenarios for tax and service levels, including an approach in which the Town minimizes tax impact by reducing appropriations by 7 percent in other service areas. The CGR report and the Town's response to it are both public documents.

For Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD specifically, no source identifies any change to the district's boundaries, governance, enrollment, or school tax base as a consequence of the Edgemont incorporation. The fiscal implications for the district, as stated in the research, are that any effect would be indirect, operating through Town-wide funds borne by village taxpayers rather than through a change to the district's budget mechanism. The district's budget would continue to be set by the Board of Education and approved by district voters regardless of the outcome of the Edgemont proceeding.

The 2009 Westchester County affordable housing settlement

Westchester County entered into a settlement with federal authorities in 2009 concerning affordable housing, commonly referred to as the AFFH settlement. This settlement was terminated on August 4, 2021. The County's announcement of the termination confirms the official status. No district-specific mandate, funding requirement, or litigation naming Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD was identified in the County's termination notice or in municipality-scoping materials. The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson maintains an Affordable Housing Committee and related resources, but no direct obligation imposed on the school district by the County settlement was found in the research.

Boundary changes, mergers, and consolidation

Searches for Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD merger, consolidation, annexation, deannexation, split, and boundary change produced no active effort involving this district. No proceeding of this kind was found in the research materials, which included the district's website, Board of Education budget pages, and state education records. The absence of any such proceeding is a confident finding, not a gap in reporting. If a municipal or district structural change were to affect Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD in the future, the mechanism would likely involve one of the following: a petition under New York Education Law for district reorganization, which could alter boundaries or consolidate governance; a change in the tax base supporting the district, which would affect the rate at which district residents are taxed for school purposes; or a transfer of territory between districts, which would shift enrollment and taxable assessed value. None of these mechanisms is presently active for this district. The district's enrollment of 1,589 students in 2023-24, its governance by a voter-approved budget, and its boundaries remain as they are, with no pending proceeding to alter any of these elements.

Real estate and the price of admission

The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) for the ZIP codes associated with the Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District is $1,100,698 as of April 30, 2026. The Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) for the same set of ZIP codes is $3,205 as of the same date. Both figures are derived from four ZIP codes: 10522, 10583, 10701, and 10706. The source for both indices is Zillow ZHVI and ZORI at the ZIP level, allocation-weighted to the district via an NCES-ZCTA relationship file.

These figures are ZIP-level approximations. They are not calculated from property records that fall inside the school district boundary. The method uses an NCES-ZCTA relationship file to allocation-weight ZIP-level data to the district. ZCTAs, or ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, are the Census Bureau's generalized representations of USPS ZIP codes. The relationship file maps which ZCTAs overlap with which school district attendance areas and in what proportions, allowing a weighted average to be constructed from the underlying ZIP-level indices. Because ZIP code boundaries are drawn for mail delivery and do not follow school district lines, the resulting index includes some homes that fall outside the district and excludes some homes that fall inside it. The degree of mismatch depends on how the ZIP boundaries happen to fall relative to the district boundary, and the note accompanying the source data states explicitly that ZIP boundaries do not align with district boundaries.

ZHVI is a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of typical home values. It is not a simple median of sale prices recorded in a given month. Zillow constructs it from a model that estimates the value of every home in a given area, including homes that have not recently sold, and then takes the middle of that distribution. This approach is designed to reduce the volatility that comes from month-to-month changes in which homes happen to transact. The index reflects the typical residential property in the covered ZIP codes, not specifically homes zoned for Hastings-on-Hudson schools. A reader should understand that the $1,100,698 figure is a modeled estimate of typical value across a set of ZIP codes that partially overlap the district, not a record of what homes within the district actually sold for.

ZORI is a measure of asking rents. It is constructed from a sample of rental listings and is designed to capture the rent that a newly listed unit would command. It does not reflect rents paid by sitting tenants under existing leases, which may differ. Like ZHVI, ZORI is reported at the ZIP level and then allocation-weighted to the district. The $3,205 figure represents the typical asking rent across the same four ZIP codes, weighted by their overlap with the district.

The inclusion of four ZIP codes in the allocation reflects the NCES-ZCTA relationship file's mapping of which postal areas overlap the district's attendance boundary. The weighting gives greater influence to ZIP codes with more geographic overlap with the district, but the exact weights are determined by the relationship file and are not reproduced in this report. A reader who wants to understand the precise allocation would need to consult the NCES-ZCTA relationship file directly.

No data was available from acquired research regarding the residential development pipeline within the district. There is no information on specific housing projects under construction, planned, or entitled within the district boundary. No zoning changes or variances affecting residential density have been documented in the sources reviewed for this report. This absence means the report cannot describe whether new housing supply is expanding, contracting, or holding steady in the area served by the district.

No information was found regarding commercial tax base additions or risks within the district. The district's tax base composition, including the ratio of residential to commercial property and any concentration in particular commercial sectors, is not addressed in the available sources. Without this information, the report cannot describe how dependent the district's revenue is on any single property or category of property.

No PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements or tax abatements diverting revenue from the school district were identified in the research conducted for this report. The absence of this information in the available sources does not indicate that no such agreements exist. It indicates that none were documented in the materials reviewed. PILOT agreements, where they exist, reduce the property tax revenue that flows to school districts by substituting a negotiated payment that is typically lower than the full assessed tax. Whether any such agreements are in effect in this district is not established by the sources available.

The home value and rent figures presented here describe market conditions in the ZIP codes associated with the district as of April 30, 2026. They do not predict future values, and this report makes no claim about whether current prices will rise, fall, or remain stable. The figures are provided as a snapshot of what the Zillow indices report for the relevant ZIP codes, weighted to approximate the district.

The choice ecosystem

Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District operates three schools on a single campus: Hillside Elementary, Farragut Middle School, and Hastings High School. The district's enrollment was 1,589 students in 2023-24, as reported by NCES. No magnet or themed school operates within the district, and the district does not publish a school-choice or lottery process for assignment among its buildings. Students progress through the three schools by grade level rather than by geographic catchment within the village. Because the district operates only one school per grade span, there is no within-district choice mechanism to navigate.

Charter schools in New York State, outside New York City, may be authorized by the Board of Regents or the SUNY Board of Trustees, with NYSED administering the Regents application process. No charter school operates within the district's boundaries, and no Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD charter authorization posture was found on district pages. The district does not appear in NYSED's charter school authorization materials as a charter author or host district. NYSED publishes charter school application materials for prospective applicants, but no charter application specific to the Hastings-on-Hudson area was identified in district or state channels.

New York has no currently enacted K-12 voucher, tax-credit scholarship, or education savings account program. No local uptake or district fiscal effect from such programs is published because the statutory framework does not exist. State-level comparisons confirm New York's absence from the list of states with private-school-choice programs, and EdChoice reports no active program for the state. The NCSL's education savings account policy scan likewise lists no New York ESA enactment. This means no public funding follows students to private schools in this state, and the district's budget is not affected by voucher or ESA transfers.

Several private schools in the broader region publish tuition for 2026-27. Hackley School offers K-12 day instruction with a five-day boarding option. Its published 2026-27 day tuition is $52,880 for grades K-4, $58,260 for grades 5-8, and $61,895 for grades 9-12, with a five-day boarding fee of $18,905. The Masters School serves middle and upper school day students with upper school boarding. Its published 2026-27 tuition is $65,800 for middle school day, $65,800 for upper school day, $77,200 for five-day boarding, and $83,350 for seven-day boarding. Rye Country Day School serves pre-K through grade 12. Its published 2026-27 tuition is $53,210 for pre-K through grade 4, $55,540 for grades 5-8, and $59,070 for grades 9-12, with lunch included.

Homeschooling is tracked at the state level. NYSED's statewide Home-Instructed BEDS workbook reports 15 home-instructed students for Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD in 2022-23, the latest district-specific year returned from the workbook. Microschools are not separately identified in state reporting, meaning any such activity would not appear as a distinct category in NYSED data. The district maintains a homeschooling information page on its website, and NYSED publishes home instruction questions and answers outlining the regulatory framework for families electing home instruction.

Programs, logistics, and special populations

Special education

The district reports 225 students with disabilities, representing 14% of district enrollment, in 2024-25. [NYSED publishes guidance on special education classification rates](

Safety, climate, and community

Official safety reporting frameworks

New York State requires school districts to report safety and climate data through the School Safety and the Educational Climate (SSEC) system, administered by NYSED. The SSEC collects annual counts of reportable violent or disruptive incidents and DASA (Dignity for All Students Act) discrimination, harassment, and bullying categories occurring on school property or at school functions. The latest SSEC reporting period on file for the district covers the 2024-25 school year, under the designation "Rest of State," which distinguishes districts outside New York City from those within it. A critical definitional point: SSEC incident counts are counts of incidents, not counts of individual students. A single student involved in multiple reportable incidents is counted once per incident, and a single incident involving multiple students is counted once. The reporting regulations define which incident types districts must report, and districts categorize each incident by type. Without understanding these definitions, raw counts can mislead, because a district with ten reported "disruptive incidents" may have ten separate students involved once each, or one student involved ten times, or any combination in between. The SSEC data file for 2024-25 is published by NYSED as a spreadsheet covering all "Rest of State" districts, but specific Hastings incident counts from that file are not included in the data on file for this report.

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) provides a separate discipline dataset. The CRDC for the 2021-22 school year records disciplinary actions broken down by race, sex, disability status, and English-learner status. For Hastings-on-Hudson in 2021-22, the CRDC recorded the following actions among students without disabilities: three in-school suspensions (one Hispanic male student and two White male students), six single out-of-school suspensions (all White male students), and zero multiple out-of-school suspensions. No suspensions were recorded in any other demographic category for that year. These figures cover only students without disabilities, because the CRDC reports students with disabilities in separate fields that are not included in the data on file. The 2021-22 CRDC is the most recent federal discipline snapshot available in the computed data and does not reflect subsequent years.

Confirmed incidents and district responses

The district officially confirmed and responded to five incidents during the 2025-26 school year. The district maintains a districtwide safety plan as required by New York State law, and the following incidents were addressed through that framework:

• On September 4, 2025, an isolated chemical spill occurred in a Hastings High School science classroom. The district evacuated Hastings High School and Farragut Middle School as a precaution.
• On December 5, 2025, the boiler system serving the Farragut Complex stopped operating during cold weather. The district ordered early dismissal because of the building temperature.
• On December 11, 2025, the district relayed a report that strangers in a vehicle attempted to entice students with candy while students were traveling to school. The district stated Hastings Police were investigating and directed families to report concerns to police and a building administrator.
• On March 9, 2026, stickers containing hate speech were found on signs near the middle-school playground. The district and village rejected the messages and stated a zero-tolerance position toward hate speech and acts of bias.
• On March 10, 2026, vibrations from a regional earthquake were felt in district buildings. The district reported all students and staff were safe and facilities staff deemed buildings safe.

Discipline approach and school resource officer status

The district's Code of Conduct, adopted June 15, 2026 for the 2026-27 school year, governs student discipline with graduated consequences up to in-school or out-of-school suspension. Device-related conduct falls under board policy and the Code. No reviewed official district or village source confirmed a currently assigned school resource officer or a recent SRO change. This absence of confirmation means the district either does not maintain an SRO program or does not publicly document one in the sources reviewed.

Cell phone policy and New York's statewide requirement

New York Education Law Section 2803 requires K-12 schools to restrict internet-enabled personal devices bell-to-bell beginning September 2025. Hastings implements this requirement through a districtwide distraction-free policy under Policy 5695, effective August 1, 2025. The district's distraction-free schools page describes the restriction as covering smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices during the school day, with building-level guidance and allowable exceptions communicated to families. New York's governor launched a statewide program to support districts in implementing these restrictions, and NYSUT has published a fact sheet summarizing the legal requirements for districts.

Climate survey results

According to the district's own figures, the district administered the Panorama Social Emotional Learning teacher screener for grades K-2 and a student perception survey for grades 3-12 in Spring 2024, with results published September 24, 2024. The survey measured several dimensions of school climate and student experience:

• Supportive relationships scored 93% favorable at Hillside grades 3-4, 87% at Farragut grade 5, 84% at Farragut grades 6-8, and 87% at Hastings High School.
• School climate scored 74% favorable at Hillside grades 3-4, 61% at Farragut grade 5, 47% at Farragut grades 6-8, and 64% at Hastings High School.
• Engagement scored 70% favorable at Hillside grades 3-4, 61% at Farragut grade 5, 35% at Farragut grades 6-8, and 36% at Hastings High School.
• The K-2 teacher screener measured Emotion Regulation at 76%, Social Awareness at 68%, Self-Efficacy at 70%, and Social Perspective-Taking at 57%.

The data shows a pattern in which supportive relationships score higher than school climate, which in turn scores higher than engagement, particularly at the middle-school and high-school levels. These are self-reported perception data from students and teachers, not objective measures of school quality, and they reflect a single administration in Spring 2024.

Controversies as governance signals

Three disputes during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years reached the board or public-discussion level. Each illustrates a different type of governance question that arose, was debated, and reached a documented resolution or remained open.

Curriculum (November 2024 through February 2025): Hillside Elementary's gender-identity lessons drew criticism reported by named journalism in November 2024. The district's response stated the lessons had existed for several years and were rooted in respect and dignity. A February 2025 district update reported community calls to continue equity work. No formal termination of the lessons was recorded in reviewed sources, and no formal discontinuation or policy reversal was documented.

Budget and personnel (March through May 2025): The superintendent's 2025-26 budget proposal included a small net FTE reduction at the high school while adding middle-school resources and staying within the tax-levy cap. Staff and families raised concerns about effects on core subjects and electives. The Board adopted the budget on April 22, 2025, and district voters approved it on May 20, 2025, as reported by local journalism. The budget decision was resolved through the standard adoption and voter-approval process, even if policy preferences among staff and families differed.

Political apparel (October 2025): Parents raised concerns that one or more staff members wore apparel promoting political organizations or views. The district issued a statement on October 15, 2025 that it took the concerns seriously, was handling the situation directly, and reminded staff of limits on promoting personal political views in the classroom. No later public disposition was found in reviewed sources.

Leadership, governance, and labor

Superintendent

The superintendent of Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District is William S. McKersie, Ph.D., who has held the permanent role since January 1, 2022. McKersie initially joined the district as interim superintendent on October 27, 2021, serving in that temporary capacity through December 31, 2021, before the Board of Education appointed him to the permanent position. The district's officially listed cabinet also includes Melissa Szymanski, Ed.D., as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. No other cabinet positions were identified on official district pages reviewed.

Superintendent turnover

Over the past decade, four individuals have served as superintendent across five distinct tenures. Roy Montesano began his tenure on July 1, 2012; his departure was characterized as a promotion, and his claim status is multiply corroborated but unconfirmed. Tony Sinanis began on September 6, 2017, per a single source. Valerie Henning-Piedmonte began on July 1, 2019, also per a single source. McKersie then served as interim from October 27, 2021 through December 31, 2021, an appointment that is officially confirmed, before assuming the permanent role on January 1, 2022. This means the district cycled through three superintendents in roughly four years, from 2017 through 2021, before McKersie assumed the permanent role. McKersie's tenure, now in its fifth year, represents the longest continuous superintendency since Montesano's, which began in 2012. The turnover pattern from 2017 through 2021, in which no superintendent served more than approximately two years, is a governance signal worth noting alongside the current period of stability under McKersie.

Board of Education

The Board of Education consists of seven members. David Weinstein serves as President and Catherine DiMartino serves as Vice President. The five trustees are Alexander Dal Piaz, Maureen Lennon-Santana, Jodie Meyer, Theresa McCaffrey, and David Barone. Board meetings follow a published schedule, with agendas and supporting materials disseminated through the BoardDocs platform.

Recent board elections have been contested in each of the last three cycles. On May 19, 2026, voters approved the district's proposed 2026-27 budget by 1,127 yes votes to 346 no votes, a total turnout of 1,473, with board election results also published by the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson. The 2025 election on May 20, 2025, listed multiple candidates for two seats, though official tallies were not located on district pages reviewed. The 2024 election on May 21, 2024, listed multiple candidates for three seats, with official tallies also not located on district pages reviewed. The 2026 vote is the only one of the three for which official results were published in the sources reviewed. Turnout figures for 2024 and 2025 are not available in the materials on hand.

Bargaining units and labor

The district has three recognized bargaining units. The Hastings Teachers Association (HTA) has an executed agreement covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028. No active impasse or strike notice was located on official pages as of July 25, 2026. The HTA agreement specifies class-size ranges for kindergarten through grade 4 and grades 5 through 12, rather than a single hard cap at any grade level. The Hastings-on-Hudson Administrators Association and the Hastings Custodial Unit (CSEA) are also listed as recognized bargaining units, though contract expiry dates for those two units were not located in the sources reviewed. The district's contracts page is the official repository for executed agreements. No work stoppage history was identified in the available materials.

State oversight and fiscal stress

No state monitor has been assigned to the district, and no fiscal-stress designation was posted for the 2024-25 period. The New York State Education Department maintains a list of districts under state monitoring, and the Office of the State Comptroller publishes annual fiscal stress scores for school districts. Neither repository reflects an active designation for Hastings-on-Hudson as of the most recent reporting cycle reviewed.

Litigation

The district is currently a party to pending litigation. On May 9, 2026, the district reports receiving a Notice of Petition and Petition challenging the Board's award of a contract, in what appears to be an Article 78-type filing under New York civil practice law. The matter is pending. The district's own characterization states that the outcome has the potential to delay or alter the disputed contract award depending on the court's ruling. No court date or hearing schedule was located in the sources reviewed. This is a pending matter; no finding has been issued by any court.

Risks and watch items: the forward calendar

Hastings Teachers Association contract expiry: June 30, 2028

The HTA's executed agreement covers July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028. No active impasse or strike notice was located as of July 25, 2026. The next negotiation cycle would ordinarily begin in advance of the June 30, 2028 expiry, though no formal negotiation timeline has been published. The district's contracts page is the official repository for executed agreements and would be the expected location for any successor agreement once negotiated.

Other bargaining unit contracts: dates not located

The Hastings-on-Hudson Administrators Association and the Hastings Custodial Unit (CSEA) are listed as recognized bargaining units, but contract expiry dates for both were not located in the sources reviewed. Successor negotiations for either unit may occur on timelines that are not publicly documented in the materials available. The district's contracts page is the official source for executed agreements.

Annual budget vote and board election: expected May 2027

The district has held its budget vote and board election in May in each of the last three cycles: May 21, 2024, May 20, 2025, and May 19, 2026. The 2027 cycle is expected but unscheduled. In 2026, the budget passed 1,127 to 346, and board results were published by the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson. The district's budget vote and board election page is the official source for scheduling and results as they become available.

Capital bond implementation: ongoing

Voters approved a three-part capital bond totaling approximately $38.48 million on June 17, 2025. The authorized scope includes building-system and code upgrades, Farragut instructional, cafeteria, and entrance work, accessibility improvements, and two Burke Estate turf fields. As of April 22, 2026, the district posted continuing implementation updates including design progress and construction management steps. No specific construction completion date was located in the sources reviewed. The district's capital bond information page is the official source for implementation milestones.

Pending litigation: contract award challenge

The district received a Notice of Petition and Petition on May 9, 2026, challenging the Board's award of a contract in what appears to be an Article 78-type proceeding. The matter is pending. No court date or hearing schedule was located in the sources reviewed. The district's own characterization states that the outcome has the potential to delay or alter the disputed contract award depending on the court's ruling. This is a pending matter, not a finding, and no outcome should be assumed.

State fiscal stress monitoring: next cycle unscheduled

No fiscal-stress designation was posted for Hastings-on-Hudson for 2024-25, and no state monitor has been assigned. The Office of the State Comptroller publishes annual fiscal stress scores for school districts, typically on a spring or summer release cycle. The next reporting cycle would cover the 2025-26 fiscal year, though the specific release date is unscheduled. The Comptroller's fiscal stress monitoring page and the annual report are the official sources for any future designation.

Board meeting schedule

The Board of Education publishes its meeting schedule on the district website. The 2025-2026 meeting dates are available on the district's meeting schedule page. Board meetings are the primary public forum for governance decisions, including budget development, policy adoption, and personnel actions. The BoardDocs platform provides agendas and supporting materials in advance of each meeting.

Surprising insights

Several findings in this report are the kind of detail that does not surface in casual conversation about a school district, even among residents who follow local education issues closely.

The district's own March 2025 instructional budget presentation acknowledged that students had left the district due to gaps in middle-school MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) and reading support. This is not an external critique or a parent complaint; it is a statement from the district's own budget materials, presented to the Board of Education on March 11, 2025. A family evaluating the district should understand that the district itself has identified service gaps in these areas as a factor in enrollment loss, which means the district is aware of the issue and has flagged it in a public fiscal document.

The 2026-27 adopted budget of $65,947,830 draws on $3,025,000 in appropriated fund balance and reserves to close the gap between recurring revenues and total appropriations. This includes $1.05 million in appropriated balance, $1.3 million from a retirement reserve, $575,000 from a tax-certiorari reserve, and $100,000 from a capital reserve. Although FY2025 ended with a $1,303,120 positive change in the General Fund, the budget is not described as structurally balanced without these reserve draws. A family examining the district's fiscal health should understand that the adopted budget exceeds what recurring revenues alone can fund, and that reserves are being used to bridge that gap. The district's 2026-27 budget information provides the full detail.

Farragut Middle School operates with a documented 20 percent instructional-space shortage, with all rooms in use and a cafeteria sized at 50 percent of needed capacity. This finding comes from a 2025 utilization report and has prompted a capital bond for an addition to the building. The capacity shortfall means that the middle school, which is the only middle school in the district, is operating under documented physical space constraints that affect instruction and dining. The district's bond information page describes the planned response.

The district's Student Growth Index for 2024-25 was 46.6, based on 1,101 student growth percentiles. An index of 50 represents median growth relative to academic peers statewide. A score of 46.6 means the average student in the district grew slightly below the median rate of their academic peers. This measure captures growth, not absolute proficiency, so it is possible for a district with high absolute performance to show below-median growth if students are not advancing faster than comparable peers. The distinction between proficiency level and growth rate is one that many families do not encounter unless they read state accountability reports closely. The state's growth measure documentation describes the methodology.

The district does not publish placement criteria for its Grade 8 Algebra I acceleration pathway. Farragut Middle School states that accelerated students take a high school Algebra course earning credit toward graduation, but no rubric, score cutoff, timeline, or decision mechanism appears in the reviewed official materials, as reflected on the Farragut Middle School mathematics page and the 2025-2026 mathematics offerings page. This means a family cannot determine from public documents how the pathway assignment is made, what standards a student must meet, or when the decision occurs. The absence of published criteria is notable because Algebra I placement in grade 8 is a consequential decision that affects a student's secondary mathematics trajectory.

Best fit: who this district serves well

This section describes the educational and logistical needs a family might have and how the district's documented offerings align with those needs. It is organized around what the district provides and what it does not, based on the evidence in this report.

Needs the district's structure serves well

A family that values small-school scale will find it here. The district enrolled 1,589 students in the 2023-24 school year across three schools, with one school per grade band. There is no lottery, no intra-district choice, and no competing elementary zone. A given address produces a deterministic K-12 path through Hillside Elementary, Farragut Middle School, and Hastings High School. For families who want predictability in school assignment and who prefer a compact district where the entire K-12 experience unfolds within a single governance structure, this model eliminates the uncertainty that larger, multi-school districts can introduce.

A student seeking broad Advanced Placement access will find 17 distinct AP courses at Hastings High School, according to the school's 2025-26 school profile. The district's own figures for 2025 report that 221 students took 514 AP exams with a mean score of 3.6 and 79 percent of exams earning a score of 3 or higher. AP proficiency rates for 2023-24 show high rates in several subjects, including 100.0 percent in AP Chemistry for grade 11 and 90.9 percent in AP Calculus AB for grade 12. These are self-reported figures and represent only students who took the exams, not the full cohort.

A student interested in dual enrollment and university-linked coursework has access to several options. Syracuse University's Project Advance offers college credit in English and history. The University at Albany's University in the High School program provides credit in upper-level world language courses. Rochester Institute of Technology offers credit through Project Lead The Way courses. A Science Research Program includes a university partnership, though the district does not specify which universities participate or how students enter the program.

A family that values low chronic absenteeism will note the district's rate of 9.2 percent in 2022-23, which is a measure of how many students missed 10 percent or more of enrolled school days, according to state guidance on attendance reporting.

Needs the district does not currently meet or does not publicly document

A family needing a published gifted and talented identification process will not find one in the district's public materials. No board policy on gifted education, no screening grade, no referral mechanism, and no appeals procedure appears in the reviewed documents. The Civil Rights Data Collection for 2021-22 collected gifted enrollment data for the district, but the district does not describe how students enter any such program or whether one exists.

A family seeking transparency in acceleration placement will not find published criteria for Grade 8 Algebra I. The district states that the course exists and earns high school credit, but it does not publish the rubric, cutoff, timeline, or decision mechanism. A family cannot determine from public documents how placement decisions are made.

A family needing an International Baccalaureate program will not find one. No IB program appears on any district or school website reviewed for this report.

A family concerned about middle-school capacity should understand that Farragut Middle School has a documented 20 percent instructional-space shortage and a cafeteria at 50 percent of needed capacity, based on a 2025 utilization report. A capital bond is planned to address this, but the physical constraints are current.

A family whose child requires robust Multi-Tiered System of Supports or reading intervention at the middle school level should be aware that the district's own March 2025 budget presentation acknowledged that students had left the district due to gaps in these services. The district has identified this as an issue in a public fiscal document, but the materials reviewed do not describe specific remediation steps taken since that acknowledgment.

A family seeking post-AP mathematics coursework will not find evidence of such offerings in the reviewed materials. The district lists AP Calculus AB but does not list AP Calculus BC or other post-AP mathematics options in the available documents.

A family needing current special education or English learner enrollment data to assess service capacity will not find it in the computed dataset. IEP counts and rates are reported as missing, and English learner counts and rates are also missing. The district's budget presentations cite special education enrollment shifts and new English Language learners as factors affecting staffing, but the underlying counts are not available in the data on file.

Questions parents should ask

1. What criteria determine placement in Grade 8 Algebra I at Farragut Middle School? The district publishes no rubric, score cutoff, or timeline for this decision, and the placement affects a student's entire secondary mathematics trajectory. Ask the Farragut Middle School administration or counseling department.

2. How will the Farragut Middle School capital bond construction affect daily schedules, classroom assignments, and lunch periods during the building period? A 2025 utilization report documented a 20 percent instructional-space shortage and a cafeteria at 50 percent of needed capacity, and construction will occur while students are enrolled. Ask the district's facilities office or the Board of Education.

3. What is the current four-year graduation rate? The most recent graduation data on file is from 2019-20, reported as a suppressed range of 95 to 100 percent with a cohort of 123 students, and no more recent graduation data is available in the computed dataset. Ask the district's guidance office or consult the NYSED report card.

4. What specific improvements has the district made to middle-school MTSS and reading support since the March 2025 budget presentation acknowledged that students left due to service gaps? The district identified this issue in its own instructional budget materials. Ask the superintendent's office or the curriculum and instruction office.

5. How many nonresident tuition students are currently enrolled, and at which schools? The district accepts tuition students on a space-available basis with rates published by the Registrar's Office, but the total number and distribution across buildings is not published in the materials reviewed. Ask the Registrar's Office.

6. Does the district operate a formal gifted and talented program, and if so, what is the identification process? No published process, screening grade, referral mechanism, or board policy on gifted education was found in the reviewed materials. Ask the district's curriculum office.

7. How does the district interpret its Student Growth Index of 46.6 for 2024-25, and what interventions are in place for students growing below the median rate relative to their academic peers statewide? The index is based on 1,101 student growth percentiles and represents average growth, not absolute proficiency. Ask building principals or the curriculum office.

8. What is the long-term enrollment trend for the district? No long-run enrollment series was available in the computed data, and the district's budget presentations cite enrollment shifts without providing historical context. Ask district administration for multi-year enrollment figures.

9. Which universities participate in the Science Research Program, and what are the entry requirements? The district's published materials mention a university partnership but do not specify participating institutions, how students enter the program, or what the research commitment entails. Ask Hastings High School's science department or counseling office.

10. How does the district plan to reduce its reliance on appropriated fund balance and reserves in future budgets? The 2026-27 budget draws $3,025,000 from reserves, including $1.3 million from a retirement reserve and $575,000 from a tax-certiorari reserve. Ask the Business Office or the Board of Education.

11. What special education services are provided in-district versus through out-of-district placement? Special education enrollment shifts were cited as a budget factor in February 2025, but IEP counts are missing from the computed data. Ask the Pupil Personnel Services office.

12. What are the current AP participation rates by grade level, and how many students take AP exams relative to total grade-level enrollment? The computed data includes proficiency rates for 2023-24 but not participation counts, making it impossible to assess what share of the cohort took each exam. Ask Hastings High School's counseling department.

13. How are new English Language learners identified and supported, and what staffing has been added? The March 2025 budget presentation cited new English Language learners as a driver of additional ENL staffing, but English learner counts are missing from the computed data. Ask the district's ENL coordinator or curriculum office.

Scope, method, and sourcing notes

This report covers Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District (NCES LEA ID 3613950), a union free school district in Westchester County, New York, serving grades K-12 across three schools. The report draws on computed data from federal and state sources, acquired research from district and public records, and official district publications. It describes what is true as of the data vintages cited below and does not rate, rank, or recommend the district.

Data sources and vintages

Enrollment data comes from the NCES Common Core of Data for the 2023-24 school year, processed through the SchoolDecision profile corpus. This includes total enrollment of 1,589 students and race and ethnicity counts. Finance data comes from the US Census Bureau Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) for fiscal year 2023, the most recent year available. Graduation data comes from EDFacts ACGR via the Urban Institute Education Data API for the 2019-20 school year, with a cohort size of 123 and a suppressed rate of 95 to 100 percent. Chronic absenteeism data comes from EDFacts Data Group 814 for the 2022-23 school year, reporting a rate of 9.2 percent. Civil Rights Data Collection figures for Algebra I enrollment, suspensions, AP enrollment, and gifted enrollment come from the 2021-22 school year, aggregated across the district's three schools. Advanced Placement proficiency rates come from New York State assessment data for the 2023-24 school year. Accountability designations come from the New York State Education Department for the 2025-26 support model. District budget information comes from presentations dated February 11, 2025, and March 11, 2025, and the adopted 2026-27 budget. Student Growth Index data comes from the 2024-25 school year, based on 1,101 student growth percentiles.

What is not available

Several categories of data that families may expect are absent from this report. Free and reduced-price lunch counts and rates are reported as missing for this district, meaning no economic disadvantage proxy is available in the computed data. Individualized Education Program counts and rates are missing. English learner counts and rates are missing. No long-run enrollment series was available, so historical enrollment trends cannot be assessed from the data on file. Graduation data is from 2019-20 and is several years old; no more recent graduation rate is available in the computed dataset. The AP proficiency series includes only an "all students" group with no subgroup breakdowns by race, ethnicity, economic status, disability status, or English learner status. AP participation counts are not included, so proficiency rates cannot be contextualized by the number of test-takers per exam. No school-level enrollment breakdowns are available, so the distribution of students across the three buildings cannot be determined from computed data. No child poverty data was available. No market-level housing or real estate data was available in the computed dataset for this profile. No published placement criteria for Grade 8 Algebra I acceleration were found in reviewed district materials. No published gifted and talented identification process or board policy was found. The Science Research Program's participating universities and entry criteria are not specified in available documents. CRDC data for gifted enrollment and Algebra I enrollment were collected for 2021-22, but specific enrollment figures are not reported in the available materials. The district's self-reported trend commentary on assessment performance is drawn from state accountability reporting and represents the district's own characterization, not independently computed values from the dataset on file.

About SchoolDecision.com

SchoolDecision.com publishes source-attributed profiles of US school districts and schools built from government data and official district publications. It does not rate, rank, or recommend districts. Each profile describes what is true based on available data sources, names the vintage of each figure, and states honestly where data is missing or unavailable. The publication's purpose is to give families a factual foundation for their own decisions, not to make those decisions for them.