State of the School District: Katonah-Lewisboro, NY

Summary Perspective

Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District is a sustainability story. The district serves approximately 2,800 students across five schools in northern Westchester County, with revenue concentrated in local property taxes at 85.4 percent of the total revenue mix in FY2023. Its academic position, as captured by the available computed data, is one of high performance on the measures that exist on file: AP proficiency rates in 2023-24 ranged from 76.0 percent to 96.0 percent in mathematics and science subjects, with computer science showing wider variation from 20.0 percent to 85.7 percent. The 2019-20 graduation rate was reported as 99 to 100 percent for a cohort of 255 students. The district's schools are designated Local Support and Improvement under New York's ESSA accountability system for 2025-26, meaning they are not identified for comprehensive or targeted state intervention.

The single most decision-relevant contextual fact is the active facility planning process the district calls the LES Path Forward. The district closed Lewisboro Elementary School in 2014 following a board vote, reducing from four elementary schools to three. The Lewisboro Elementary campus remains district-owned, and a bond proposal to renovate or repurpose it was rejected by voters on May 19, 2026. The district states that the campus is targeted to close at the end of August 2026, with subsequent implementation steps to follow. No specific K-12 attendance boundary change has been adopted as part of this process, but the district has noted potential school configuration impacts. A family purchasing a home in the district today is buying into an elementary attendance zone configuration that may change, and the district has not published a written grandfathering policy that would protect current assignments if boundaries shift.

The fiscal picture reinforces the sustainability framing. The adopted budget for 2026-27 totals $131,816,402, a 3.46 percent increase over the prior year, with a $3,350,000 gap between recurring revenues and appropriations filled by appropriated fund balance and reserves. Current per-pupil spending was $38,772 in FY2023, with instruction accounting for $23,170 per pupil. The district's heavy reliance on local revenue means that its fiscal operations are tied to the property tax base within its boundaries more than to state aid fluctuations.

The district operates under standard locally-elected governance: a seven-member Board of Education with three-year terms, no state takeover, receivership, or non-standard governance arrangement. The next scheduled board election is May 18, 2027. The district's boundaries span portions of four towns in northern Westchester County, and changing them requires a formal reorganization under New York Education Law with voter approval in each affected district.

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

Key takeaways for families

• AP proficiency rates in 2023-24 varied substantially by subject and grade level, from 96.0 percent on AP Calculus AB to 20.0 percent on AP Computer Science Principles for grade 12, reflecting the self-selected nature of AP exam participation rather than whole-grade achievement.
• The most recent graduation data on file is from the 2019-20 school year, showing a rate of 99 to 100 percent for a cohort of 255 students, but this cohort was affected by pandemic-era Regents exam waivers that may have altered graduation criteria.
• The computed data does not include Regents exam proficiency rates, AP participation rates, or subgroup breakdowns by race, ethnicity, economic status, disability, or English learner status, so families cannot assess outcome equity or participation breadth from the available data alone.
• The district operates three elementary attendance zones feeding into a single middle school and single high school, meaning secondary school assignment is determined by grade level rather than by attendance zone or school choice.
• The LES Path Forward process is active, with a bond proposal rejected by voters on May 19, 2026, and the Lewisboro Elementary campus targeted to close at the end of August 2026, but no specific K-12 attendance boundary change has been adopted.
• No written grandfathering policy was found in district documents, meaning that if a future boundary change occurs, the district would not be bound by a pre-existing commitment to allow displaced students or siblings to remain at their current school.
• The district's revenue is 85.4 percent local, 13.4 percent state, and 1.2 percent federal in FY2023, meaning its fiscal health is tied to the local property tax base within its boundaries more than to state aid fluctuations.
• The adopted budget for 2026-27 totals $131,816,402, a 3.46 percent increase over the prior year, with a $3,350,000 gap between recurring revenues and appropriations filled by appropriated fund balance and reserves.
• Current per-pupil spending was $38,772 in FY2023 based on a membership of 2,835 students, with $23,170 per pupil directed to instruction.
• The district's boundaries span portions of four towns in northern Westchester County, and school district boundaries in New York are independent of municipal boundaries, so a town altering its borders does not change school district assignment.
• The school tax is levied by the Board of Education and collected by the component towns on the district's behalf, meaning a homeowner's tax bill may arrive from the town even though the rate is set by the school district.
• The district operates under standard locally-elected governance with a seven-member Board of Education serving three-year terms, no state takeover or receivership, and the next scheduled board election on May 18, 2027.

At a glance

The following table summarizes current-state signals for Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District based on the computed data and district documents reviewed in this report. Numeric values come from computed data unless otherwise noted. Where a data point is not available in the sources reviewed, the cell states "Not available" rather than providing an estimate or projection.

How to read New York accountability

New York's ESSA accountability system assigns each school a designation based on performance indicators that include proficiency, growth, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism. The designations form a tiered structure. Local Support and Improvement (LSI) is the designation for schools that are not identified for comprehensive or targeted support. Schools with this designation receive support from their district and have access to NYSED continuous-improvement planning materials, but they are not subject to required state-led intervention. Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) are designations for schools identified as needing more intensive intervention, with CSI generally applying to the lowest-performing schools and TSI applying to schools with specific subgroup performance concerns. The NYSED ESSA accountability system page describes these designations in full.

The state also reports a Student Growth measure, which tracks how much students progress relative to academic expectations, separate from their absolute proficiency levels. For Katonah-Lewisboro, an ESSA Student Growth measure was reported for the 2024-25 school year, though the specific result is not detailed in the computed data on file. New York uses Regents examinations as its primary proficiency measure for accountability under ESSA, but the computed dataset for this district does not include Regents results.

New York's tax levy limit restricts the annual growth in a school district's property tax levy. A district may exceed the levy limit only if 60 percent of voters approve a budget that does so. If voters defeat the budget, the district must adopt a contingency budget under Education Law Section 2023, and under Real Property Tax Law Section 1318, the levy in a contingency budget cannot exceed the prior year's levy. No charter school was identified within this district in the available sources. The district operates neighborhood-zoned assignment with no general open enrollment for nonresident families, as governed by district policy.

For Katonah-Lewisboro specifically, all schools carry the LSI designation for 2025-26, meaning none are identified for state-led intervention. The district's adopted budget for 2026-27 totals $131,816,402, a 3.46 percent increase over the prior year. The district's revenue is 85.4 percent local, meaning the tax levy limit and voter approval mechanics directly affect the fiscal capacity available to the district. The absence of Regents proficiency data in the computed dataset means that the primary state accountability measure for this district is not reflected in the data on file, and families seeking that information should consult the New York State Report Card system maintained by NYSED.

What kind of district this is: governance and geography

Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District is a Union Free School District (UFSD) organized under New York Education Law Article 31, which governs the formation, alteration, and dissolution of union free school districts. A UFSD is an independent K-12 unified school district, distinct from a Common School District, which typically serves fewer grades, or a Central School District, which is organized under Article 37 of the Education Law. The district serves grades K through 12 and operates five schools, all listed as open in the federal education dataset: Increase Miller Elementary School, Katonah Elementary School, Meadow Pond Elementary School, John Jay Middle School, and John Jay High School. The district's administrative headquarters are in Cross River, New York, within the Town of Lewisboro. Its official website is klschools.org, and its NCES LEA identifier is 3616080.

Municipalities served and shared boundaries

The district's territory overlays portions of four towns in northern Westchester County. It serves the entirety of the Town of Lewisboro. It also serves part of the Town of Bedford, where the remainder is served by Bedford Central School District. It serves part of the Town of Pound Ridge. And it serves part of the Town of North Salem, where the remainder is served by North Salem Central School District. This means that a family living in the Town of Bedford, for example, may reside in either the Katonah-Lewisboro district or the Bedford Central district depending on the specific address, because school district boundaries in New York are independent of municipal boundaries. A town altering its own borders does not change school district boundaries. The district lines are established and modified under the Education Law, not under municipal charters or town ordinances.

Who levies the tax and who approves the budget

The school tax in Katonah-Lewisboro is levied by the Board of Education as part of the annual budget presented to district voters. The budget approval process works as follows. The Board develops and proposes a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That budget is put before voters at the annual school district election, typically held in May. If voters approve the budget, the Board files a tax warrant with the receiver of taxes for each component town, which includes Lewisboro, Bedford, Pound Ridge, and North Salem. The towns then collect the school tax on the district's behalf under the Real Property Tax Law. The district itself is the levying body. The towns serve as collecting agents. This division of responsibility is standard for New York school districts that span multiple municipalities, and it means that a homeowner's school tax bill may arrive from the town even though the tax rate and total levy are set by the school district.

What a defeated budget triggers

Under New York Education Law Section 2023, if voters defeat the proposed budget, the Board of Education must adopt a contingency budget. A contingency budget is a restricted spending plan that may include only ordinary contingent expenses. These include teacher salaries tied to existing employment contracts, statutorily required expenditures such as debt service, BOCES capital and service costs, and legally mandated transportation. Under Real Property Tax Law Section 1318, the tax levy in a contingency budget cannot exceed the prior year's levy, which effectively imposes a zero percent cap on the tax levy growth. Capital outlays and most non-mandated expenditures must be removed from the budget. The practical consequence is that programs and services not required by law or contract are at risk of reduction or elimination under a contingency budget. After adopting a contingency budget, the Board may also submit a revised budget to voters at a special district meeting, giving the electorate a second opportunity to vote on a spending plan. This two-step mechanism, where defeat leads first to a contingency budget and then optionally to a revised proposal, is the statutory safety valve built into New York's school budget process.

Board of education composition and elections

The Katonah-Lewisboro Board of Education consists of seven members, each elected to a three-year term. Elections are conducted at large, meaning all voters in the district vote for all board seats regardless of where they live within the district boundaries. Board members are elected by the community rather than appointed by any other governmental body. The next scheduled board election is May 18, 2027, according to the district's governance records. The Board operates under standard locally-elected governance as provided by New York Education Law. No state takeover, receivership, mayoral control, or other non-standard governance arrangement has been imposed on the district. Board meeting materials and policies are published through the district's BoardDocs portal, and information about board members is maintained on the district website.

Feeder structure

Katonah-Lewisboro UFSD is a single K-12 unified district that operates its own high school, John Jay High School. There is no regular feeder-pipe relationship with another district. Students who attend the district's three elementary schools, which are Increase Miller, Katonah, and Meadow Pond, typically progress to John Jay Middle School and then to John Jay High School, all within the same district. The district may send some students to BOCES programs or other specialized placements for particular educational needs, but there is no standing tuition arrangement with another district for the standard grade sequence. This means that a family living within the district's boundaries can expect their children to attend district schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade without transferring to another district's schools. The absence of a feeder relationship also means that the district's enrollment is self-contained, and its high school graduating class is drawn from students who have progressed through the district's own middle and elementary schools, plus any non-resident students admitted under district policy.

How boundaries could change

Changing the boundaries of Katonah-Lewisboro UFSD requires a formal reorganization under New York Education Law Article 31, specifically the provisions found in Sections 1501 through 1514. The process involves several sequential steps. First, a petition must be submitted to the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner then issues an order laying out or altering the territory in question. Voter approval by referendum is required in each affected district, meaning that if a boundary change involved territory shared with Bedford Central School District, voters in both districts would need to weigh in. Finally, the New York State Education Department must approve the change. A municipal boundary change, such as a town altering its borders through its own procedures, does not by itself change school district boundaries in New York, because school district boundaries are established and altered independently of municipal boundaries under the Education Law. The most consequential structural change available to a UFSD would be dissolution or consolidation into a central school district under Article 37 of the Education Law, which itself requires a permissive referendum. These legal mechanisms ensure that any boundary change involves multiple layers of review, including direct voter participation, and cannot be accomplished by a single governmental body acting alone. For a family considering a home purchase, the practical implication is that the district's boundaries are stable unless a formal, multi-step legal process involving voter approval is completed, and that the district's territory does not automatically shift when town borders change.

Academic outcomes: the evidence base

The computed assessment dataset for Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District contains 65 distinct data series spanning from 2006 through 2025. Of these, twelve series are detailed in the available data, all reporting results from the 2023-24 school year. These twelve series cover Advanced Placement (AP) examination proficiency rates across six subjects: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, and AP Computer Science Principles. Each series reports results for all students at a specific grade level. No subgroup breakdowns by race, ethnicity, economic status, disability, or English learner status are present in the computed assessment data.

The dataset's year range includes entries from 2006 through 2017 and resumes with 2023-24 data. The gap between 2017 and 2023-24 encompasses the 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 school years, during which New York State cancelled or modified its standard assessment administration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government waived statewide testing requirements for the 2019-20 school year, and New York cancelled Regents examinations in June 2020 and subsequent administrations. This interruption explains the absence of continuous annual data points across the full 2006 to 2025 span.

What the AP data shows

In the 2023-24 school year, AP proficiency rates for Katonah-Lewisboro varied substantially by subject and grade level. AP proficiency, in this dataset, refers to the percentage of exam-takers who scored 3 or higher on the College Board's 5-point AP exam scale. A score of 3 is generally considered the threshold for potential college credit at many institutions, though credit policies vary by college and by subject.

For AP Biology, 87.8% of eleventh-grade test-takers achieved proficiency, compared with 76.0% of twelfth-grade test-takers. For AP Calculus AB, 96.0% of twelfth-grade test-takers achieved proficiency. For AP Calculus BC, 90.0% of twelfth-grade test-takers achieved proficiency. AP Chemistry showed 83.3% proficiency among eleventh-graders and 73.3% among twelfth-graders.

AP Computer Science A showed wider variation: 85.7% of tenth-grade test-takers achieved proficiency, while 33.3% of eleventh-grade test-takers did. The twelfth-grade AP Computer Science A result is reported as missing in the dataset. AP Computer Science Principles results are also missing for tenth and eleventh grades, with a 20.0% proficiency rate reported for twelfth-graders.

The variation between grade levels within the same subject reflects a structural feature of AP data. AP exams are not grade-anchored assessments administered to all students at a fixed point. They are end-of-course exams tied to specific AP course enrollments. A tenth-grader taking AP Computer Science A may represent a self-selected group of students who accelerated into the course early, while an eleventh-grader taking the same exam may represent a broader or differently composed cohort. The proficiency rate for each grade-level cell reflects only the students who sat for that exam in that grade, not the full grade-level population.

What AP proficiency rates measure and what they do not

AP exams measure performance on a specific college-level curriculum as defined by the College Board. They are designed to assess mastery of course content at a level intended to approximate introductory college coursework. A proficiency rate of 96.0% on AP Calculus AB means that 96.0% of the students in the district who took that exam scored 3 or higher. It does not indicate what percentage of all twelfth-graders in the district took AP Calculus AB, nor does it reflect the mathematics proficiency of students who did not enroll in that course.

Several limitations follow from this structure. First, AP participation is self-selected. Students choose to enroll in AP courses, and schools determine which AP courses to offer and how to gate enrollment. A high proficiency rate on an AP exam may reflect a small, highly prepared group of test-takers rather than broad student achievement. The dataset does not include the number of test-takers per exam, so it is not possible to calculate participation rates from the computed data alone. The John Jay High School course description guide lists the AP courses available at the district's high school, which provides context for which subjects students can access.

Second, AP exams do not constitute the state's primary accountability assessment. New York State uses Regents examinations as its primary measure of student proficiency for accountability purposes under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The computed dataset does not include Regents exam results for Katonah-Lewisboro. Families seeking Regents proficiency data can consult the New York State Report Card system maintained by the New York State Education Department.

Third, the AP data reports results only for all students as an aggregate group. The computed dataset does not include proficiency rates broken down by racial or ethnic subgroup, economic status, disability status, or English learner status. The enrollment data on file shows the district's demographic composition for 2023-24: of 2,800 students enrolled, 75.5% were white, 12.3% were Hispanic, 3.5% were Asian, 1.2% were Black, 7.3% were identified as two or more races, and 0.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native. No Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students were reported. However, the assessment data does not provide a corresponding subgroup breakdown, so it is not possible from the computed data to compare AP proficiency rates across demographic groups within the district.

Level versus trajectory

The 2023-24 AP proficiency rates represent a snapshot of current performance level. They show that among students who took AP exams in the district, the percentage scoring 3 or higher ranged from 20.0% to 96.0% depending on subject and grade level. Mathematics AP exams showed the highest proficiency rates, with both Calculus AB and Calculus BC above 90.0%. Science AP exams showed rates in the 73.0% to 88.0% range. Computer science AP exams showed the widest spread, from 20.0% to 85.7%.

Trajectory, meaning whether these rates are rising, falling, or stable over time, cannot be assessed from the data on file. The dataset metadata indicates that 65 series exist spanning 2006 through 2025, and the years array lists 2006 through 2017 as years with data. However, the detailed series data provided contains only 2023-24 data points. No historical proficiency rates for prior years are included in the series detail available for analysis. This means any comparison to past performance would require data not present in the computed dataset.

The pandemic-related assessment cancellations in 2020 and 2021 created a structural break in any longitudinal comparison. Even where historical data exists, comparing pre-pandemic results to post-pandemic results requires caution, as the student population, course offerings, and testing conditions may have changed. The district's annual professional performance review plan, submitted in November 2020, documents the district's approach to continuity during the pandemic disruption.

Graduation rates

The most recent graduation data on file for Katonah-Lewisboro is from the 2019-20 school year. The Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR), as reported through EDFacts and accessed via the Urban Institute Education Data API, shows a rate of 99 to 100% for a cohort of 255 students. This figure is reported as a suppressed range rather than a single point value, which is a standard practice used to protect student privacy when cohort sizes are small or when rates are at the extremes of the scale. The 99 to 100% range should be understood as a range, not as a midpoint or a single number.

The 2019-20 graduation cohort was affected by pandemic-era policy changes. New York State modified Regents exam requirements for graduation during that school year, which means some students in this cohort may have graduated under altered criteria. This context is relevant to interpreting the rate, as the waiver may have removed a requirement that would have prevented some students from graduating under standard conditions.

This graduation data is several years old. More recent graduation rates may be available through the NYSED district page or the NYSED Parent Dashboard, but they are not reflected in the computed data on file.

Chronic absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism data from the 2022-23 school year shows a rate of 11.4% for all students in the district, sourced from EDFacts Data Group 814. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of enrolled school days, whether excused or unexcused. This metric is distinct from daily attendance rates and captures a different dimension of student engagement. The 11.4% figure means that approximately 11.4% of enrolled students missed enough school days to meet the chronic absenteeism threshold during that school year. The U.S. Department of Education and NYSED both maintain resources on chronic absenteeism definitions and interventions.

Accountability status

For the 2025-26 school year, Katonah-Lewisboro's schools are designated under New York's ESSA accountability system as Local Support and Improvement (LSI). According to the NYSED accountability status report guide, LSI is the designation for schools that are not identified for comprehensive or targeted support. Schools with this designation receive support from their district and have access to NYSED continuous-improvement planning materials, but they are not subject to required state-led intervention. The district's final accountability determinations were released by NYSED for the 2025-26 cycle.

The district also has an ESSA Student Growth measure reported for the 2024-25 school year. Growth measures in New York's accountability system track how much students progress relative to academic expectations, separate from their absolute proficiency levels. The specific growth result is not detailed in the computed data on file.

What the data does not establish

Several questions that families may have about academic outcomes cannot be answered from the computed data on file. The dataset does not include Regents exam proficiency rates, which are the primary state accountability assessment in New York. It does not include AP participation rates, which would show what fraction of students in each grade are taking AP courses. It does not include subgroup proficiency breakdowns for any assessment. It does not include historical data points that would allow trajectory analysis. The graduation data is from 2019-20 and predates the most recent cohorts. Free and reduced-price lunch data, IEP counts, and English learner counts are all reported as missing in the enrollment data.

The John Jay High School profile published by the school may contain additional academic outcome information, including SAT scores, AP participation data, and college enrollment statistics, that supplements what is available in the computed dataset. The course description guides for John Jay High School detail the full range of AP and other advanced courses offered, which provides context for understanding which AP subjects are available to students in the district.

Inside the district: variation between schools

The Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District operates five schools across a standard pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 feeder pattern. Three elementary schools, Increase Miller Elementary, Katonah Elementary, and Meadow Pond Elementary, serve the primary grades. All three feed into John Jay Middle School, which in turn feeds into John Jay High School. The district reported a total enrollment of approximately 2,800 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data processed through the profile corpus. Because the district has a single secondary campus for grades six through eight and a single secondary campus for grades nine through twelve, the question of outcome variation between schools is structurally limited: there is only one middle school and only one high school, so no within-district comparison is possible at those levels. Variation among the three elementary schools is the only place where a between-schools comparison could apply, and the data available does not provide school-level assessment results for those buildings.

The assessment data on file for this district, drawn from New York State assessment records and covering a series spanning 2006 through 2025, is reported at the district level rather than broken out by individual school. The most recent data points are from the 2023-24 school year and cover Advanced Placement examinations, which are administered at the high school level. Because AP exams are taken by students at John Jay High School, these figures describe outcomes at that single building and cannot be compared against the elementary or middle schools, where no AP testing occurs. The district-level reporting means that even for the three elementary schools, which serve overlapping grade bands and could in principle be compared on state English language arts and mathematics assessments, the processed data does not include a school-by-school breakdown.

What the AP data does show is performance across different subject areas at John Jay High School in 2023-24. The proficiency rate, defined as the percentage of test-takers scoring at a level of 3 or higher on the AP exam, varied substantially by subject. AP Calculus AB had a proficiency rate of 96.0 percent, and AP Calculus BC had a rate of 90.0 percent. AP Biology showed a rate of 87.8 percent for grade 11 test-takers and 76.0 percent for grade 12 test-takers. AP Chemistry had a proficiency rate of 83.3 percent for grade 11 and 73.3 percent for grade 12. AP Computer Science A had a rate of 85.7 percent for grade 10 test-takers but dropped to 33.3 percent for grade 11 test-takers, with grade 12 data reported as missing. AP Computer Science Principles had a proficiency rate of 20.0 percent for grade 12, with grade 10 and grade 11 data reported as missing. These figures represent the only assessment results available in the computed data, and they all pertain to the high school. No state assessment results for the elementary or middle school grades appear in the processed profile corpus for this district.

The high school also reports college readiness metrics in its own school profile. According to the John Jay High School profile for 2025-26, the school reports an SAT total of 1221, with 618 in evidence-based reading and writing and 603 in mathematics. The same profile reports an ACT composite score of 28. The school reports a college enrollment rate of 97 percent, with 95 percent enrolling in four-year institutions. These figures are self-reported by the school and are not available for the elementary or middle schools, which do not produce college readiness data. The district also reported three National Merit Semifinalists in the 2024-25 school year, according to a district announcement. Because there is only one high school, there is no within-district variation to report on any of these secondary-level outcomes.

For enrollment demographics, the computed data provides race and ethnicity figures at the district level only. In 2023-24, the district reported 2,114 white students, 345 Hispanic students, 203 students of two or more races, 97 Asian students, 34 Black students, 3 American Indian or Alaska Native students, and 0 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. These figures are not broken down by individual school, so it is not possible to describe how the demographic composition of the three elementary schools compares. Free and reduced-price lunch data, individualized education program counts, and English learner counts are all reported as missing in the computed data, meaning no within-district comparison on those measures is possible either.

The practical implication for a family evaluating this district is that the available quantitative data describes the district as a whole or the high school specifically, but does not permit a school-by-school comparison of outcomes. The three elementary schools are the only buildings where such a comparison would be structurally meaningful, given that they serve the same grade levels, but the data on file does not include school-level results for them. Families seeking to understand differences among the elementary schools would need to consult New York State Education Department school report cards directly, which are available through the state's public reporting system. The district's single middle school and single high school mean that once a student reaches grade six, the school assignment is determined by grade level rather than by attendance zone or school choice.

Advanced academics and pathway access

AP course offerings and exam participation

John Jay High School offers 24 distinct Advanced Placement courses, according to the school's 2025-26 profile. The same profile, self-reported by the high school, states that 443 students took 1,105 AP exams in the year covered by that document. This averages approximately 2.5 exams per test-taker. The profile does not specify what share of the total student body participated in AP testing, nor does it report the distribution of AP scores.

The US Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection for SY2021-22, aggregated across five district schools, records AP enrollment by demographic category. In that year, white students accounted for 358 of the 433 total AP enrollments recorded by race. Hispanic students accounted for 34, Asian students for 16, students of two or more races for 23, Black students for 1, and American Indian students for 1. The same collection recorded 62 AP enrollments among students with Section 504 accommodations and 11 among students served under IDEA. These subgroup counts overlap with the racial categories and do not add to the 433 total. No AP enrollments were recorded for English learners. These figures represent enrollment in at least one AP course, not exam participation, and they predate the 2025-26 profile data by several years.

Grade 8 Algebra I placement

The district's high school course guide indicates that Algebra I may be completed in either eighth or ninth grade. Students who complete the course before grade 9 receive high school credit for it. No published placement mechanism was found in the available sources. The course guide does not describe whether entry into eighth-grade Algebra I requires a qualifying examination, a teacher recommendation, a minimum grade threshold, or is open to all students who request it. The Civil Rights Data Collection for SY2021-22 includes an Algebra I reporting category aggregated across five district schools, but no specific enrollment or proficiency totals were available in the computed data. The absence of a published mechanism means families cannot determine from district documents alone how the placement decision is made or what criteria govern it.

Gifted identification

The Civil Rights Data Collection for SY2021-22 includes a gifted and talented reporting category aggregated across five district schools. No specific enrollment totals were available in the computed data for this category. No separate district document describing a gifted identification process, screening instrument, or referral pathway was found among the available sources. This means the district may or may not operate a formal gifted program; the available record does not confirm either way.

Selective and research programs

John Jay High School offers two multi-year research sequences that function as the district's most selective academic pathways. Science Research Honors I, II, and III form a three-year sequence involving outside mentorship, summer work, research papers and posters, and presentations at science fairs and symposia. Humanities Research Honors I, II, and III form a parallel sequence described in the course guide as intended for academically strong, disciplined students, with substantial independent work. The course guide does not publish specific entry criteria such as grade prerequisites, application essays, or faculty recommendations for either sequence. A family seeking to understand how a student gains entry to these programs would not find the answer in the available district documents.

The ceiling: dual enrollment and college credit

The district's course guide lists college-credit options through four partner institutions. The University at Albany's University in the High School program provides credit in conjunction with Science Research and AP Environmental Science. SUNY Westchester Community College provides credit for Filmmaking and Animation. Syracuse University's Project Advance program provides credit for Latin 4 Honors. Mercy University is also listed as a partner. The BOCES New Visions program offers an additional off-campus pathway. The course guide does not describe transcript transfer guarantees or the detailed process by which students confirm that credits will be accepted by the colleges they eventually attend. Families would need to verify transferability with individual postsecondary institutions. The strongest student in the district can reach 24 AP courses, four college-credit partnerships, two three-year research sequences, and the BOCES New Visions off-campus program. No International Baccalaureate program was identified in any district document among the available sources, so the district's advanced coursework framework is built entirely around AP courses, dual enrollment, and the research sequences.

Detracking or honors-level changes

No published evidence of detracking, deleveling, or structural changes to honors placement specific to the Katonah-Lewisboro district was found in the available sources. The 2024-25 course guide, the 2025-26 course guide, and the 2026-27 course guide each list honors-level courses alongside standard and AP sections, but no district document among those reviewed describes a policy change that would eliminate or restructure those tracks. No board of education resolution, committee proposal, or community petition regarding detracking or honors-level restructuring was identified in the available sources.

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

How an address becomes a school seat

Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District operates a neighborhood-zoned assignment model. A family establishes residency within the district's boundaries, and the home address determines which of three K-5 elementary attendance areas the student is assigned to: Increase Miller Elementary School, Katonah Elementary School, or Meadow Pond Elementary School. The district's official website and registration portal describe this process, and the district advises families to confirm a specific street's current elementary assignment with the registrar, because street-level assignment details are maintained at the district level rather than published as a single comprehensive map in the materials reviewed.

After elementary school, the assignment path converges. All three elementary attendance areas feed into John Jay Middle School, which in turn feeds into John Jay High School. This means that regardless of which elementary school a child attends, the secondary pathway is the same for every student in the district. There is no competing middle school or high school within the district to which a student might be reassigned. This structural simplicity reduces one form of uncertainty that exists in districts with multiple secondary schools and competing feeder patterns.

The district reported total enrollment of approximately 2,800 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to NCES Common Core of Data processed through the profile corpus. The district operates five school buildings, all listed as open in the NCES data: Increase Miller Elementary, Katonah Elementary, Meadow Pond Elementary, John Jay Middle School, and John Jay High School.

Elementary zone stability and the Lewisboro Elementary closure

The district's elementary configuration has not always consisted of three schools. Lewisboro Elementary School, located in South Salem, was closed in 2014 following a board vote. According to reporting in The Journal News, the board voted in January 2014 to close the school, and the closure proceeded without a published districtwide grandfathering rule. Some parents petitioned the state to intervene, as reported by The Journal News in February 2014, but the closure went forward. The 2013 district-commissioned demographic study, presented to the board in November 2013, attributed projected enrollment declines primarily to lower local birth rates and persistent negative first-grade replacement, meaning that each incoming first-grade cohort was smaller than the one it replaced. This demographic analysis provided the rationale for the consolidation.

The closure of Lewisboro Elementary reduced the district from four elementary schools to three. Since that closure, no further elementary school has been closed, and no new elementary school has been opened. The three remaining elementary attendance areas have been in place since the 2014 reconfiguration.

The LES Path Forward and current facility planning

The Lewisboro Elementary School campus remains a district-owned property, and its disposition is the subject of an active planning process the district calls the LES Path Forward. According to the district's dedicated page for this process, the focus is on the LES campus building and safety conditions, fiscal and facility analysis, community input, and alignment with Universal Pre-K needs. The district has explored potential school configuration impacts, but no specific K-12 attendance boundary change has been adopted as part of this process.

A bond proposal to renovate or repurpose the LES campus was rejected by voters on May 19, 2026. The district's page states that the LES campus is targeted to close at the end of August 2026, with subsequent implementation steps to follow. The scope of the LES Path Forward also includes exploration of Universal Pre-K program configuration, though no specific K-12 attendance boundary lines have been named for change. The district anticipates offering a full Universal Pre-K program for the 2026-27 school year, with access managed by a lottery whose application window closed January 9, 2026, according to the district's Facebook page.

Families considering a home purchase should understand that the LES Path Forward process is active and ongoing. The rejection of the bond proposal in May 2026 means the district must determine an alternative path for the campus. While no elementary attendance boundary change has been formally adopted, the district has noted potential school configuration impacts. The district's own materials do not specify what those impacts would be beyond the LES campus itself.

Capacity and utilization data

No current building capacity or utilization report was located in the materials reviewed. The district's 2025-26 budget presentation lists six buildings totaling 661,125 square feet, but this figure includes the LES campus, which is targeted for closure. Without a published capacity utilization analysis, it is not possible to state from available data whether any individual school building is operating above or below its designed capacity. The absence of a utilization report means that families cannot independently verify whether current enrollment levels are creating space pressure at any particular school.

The district's enrollment of approximately 2,800 students in 2023-24 is distributed across five operating school buildings. The NCES data reports racial and ethnic composition but does not provide building-level enrollment counts. Without building-level enrollment figures paired with building-level capacity data, any assessment of capacity pressure at a specific school would be speculative.

Grandfathering policy

No written grandfathering policy was found in the district's policy documents or BoardDocs materials. In the 2014 closure of Lewisboro Elementary, available records show the change proceeding without a published districtwide grandfathering rule. This means that when the district last closed an elementary school, it did not publicly commit to allowing displaced students to remain at their previous school or to automatically siblings of current students into a closing school. The absence of a written grandfathering policy means that if a future boundary change or closure were to occur, the district would not be bound by a pre-existing commitment to grandfather any group of students. Families should not assume that current attendance at a particular elementary school guarantees sibling attendance at the same school if boundaries change.

Transfer mechanics

The district does not offer general open enrollment for nonresident families. Admission of nonresident students is governed by Policy 5152, adopted by the board on February 10, 2022, which provides narrow tuition-based continuance or early-admission scenarios. For example, the policy includes a semester tuition waiver provision that applies only when a student has attended as a resident for the first 10 weeks of the semester. This means a student who moves out of the district mid-semester may potentially continue attending for the remainder of that semester under specific conditions, but ongoing attendance beyond that would require tuition payment under the policy's terms.

For intra-district transfers, no published current procedure for voluntary elementary-area transfers was found. This means that if a family lives in the Increase Miller attendance area and wishes to attend Katonah Elementary, there is no documented process for requesting such a transfer. Families transferring out of the district use the district's withdrawal form when moving or changing schools.

Residency verification

The district requires three residency documents at registration. Typically, this means one document from Section A, such as a lease or proof of ownership, plus two documents from Section B, such as a utility bill or pay stub. If no Section A document is available, three Section B documents may be submitted. The district's proof of residency requirements are published and available through the district's document portal. No routine residency audit cadence was published in the materials reviewed. Documentation verification is required at registration, but the district does not appear to conduct periodic re-verification of all enrolled students on a published schedule.

Enrollment direction

A long-run enrollment series is not available in the data on file. The district-commissioned demographic study from 2013 projected enrollment declines driven by lower birth rates and negative first-grade replacement. Local reporting from Halston Media described enrollment as down slightly at Katonah-Lewisboro schools, consistent with the demographic study's projections. The district's 2023-24 enrollment of approximately 2,800 students reflects the current level, but without a multi-year series, it is not possible to construct a precise trend line from the data available. The 2013 demographic study's projection of decline appears to have been directionally accurate based on the available reporting, but the district has not published an updated demographic forecast in the materials reviewed that would extend the 2013 analysis to the current period.

What signals would indicate boundary change

In Katonah-Lewisboro, the mechanism by which boundaries could change is a board of education decision following public process. The 2014 Lewisboro Elementary closure followed a demographic study presentation, board deliberation, and a public vote. A similar sequence would likely precede any future boundary change: a demographic or facilities study identifying a problem, board discussion in public meetings documented through BoardDocs, community input sessions, and a formal board vote. The LES Path Forward process represents this kind of sequence in its early stages, with the bond rejection in May 2026 representing a decision point that did not resolve the campus question. Families monitoring for potential boundary changes should watch the district's BoardDocs portal for agenda items related to facilities, demographics, or redistricting, as these would signal that a boundary review is underway. The district's capital project updates page and the LES Path Forward page are the primary public-facing sources for current facility planning information.

Fiscal health and the tax picture

According to the US Census Bureau Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) for FY2023, the Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District reported total revenue of approximately $118.6 million and total expenditures of approximately $118.5 million. Current spending, which excludes capital outlay and debt service, totaled approximately $109.9 million. Based on a membership of 2,835 students, current spending equated to $38,772 per pupil, of which $23,170 per pupil went to instruction. The revenue mix was 85.4 percent local, 13.4 percent state, and 1.2 percent federal. In dollar terms, local sources contributed approximately $101.4 million, state sources approximately $15.9 million, and federal sources approximately $1.4 million. The district's revenue is concentrated in local property taxes, meaning its fiscal operations are tied to the tax base within its boundaries more than to state aid fluctuations.

Adopted budget and structural balance

The district's adopted budget for 2026-27 totals $131,816,402, a 3.46 percent increase over the prior year. According to the district's own budget documents, estimated recurring revenues of $128,466,402 support appropriations of $131,816,402. The $3,350,000 gap between recurring revenues and appropriations is filled by appropriated fund balance and reserves. The district does not formally claim structural balance. Using one-time reserves to close a gap between recurring revenues and recurring expenditures is a practice that, repeated over multiple years, reduces the reserves available for future shortfalls or unanticipated costs.

Federal pandemic relief and its expiration

The district received federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding during the pandemic. A review of district budget materials and the New York State Education Department's ARP/ESSER plan for the district found that these documents do not explicitly identify recurring positions funded by ESSER, nor do they specify positions that were cut, backfilled, or absorbed after ESSER funds expired. The public record does not reveal whether the district used temporary federal funds to create recurring obligations that required local replacement once the federal money ended.

Reserves

The district reports an unassigned general-fund balance of $5,096,419 as of June 30, 2025, equal to 4.30 percent of gross expenditures. This balance has grown each year over the past five years: $4,261,074 in 2021, $4,416,786 in 2022, $4,507,566 in 2023, $4,956,236 in 2024, and $5,096,419 in 2025. A fund balance serves as a financial cushion; the accumulated amount represents tax revenue collected but not yet spent on current operations. The Office of the State Comptroller's fiscal monitoring file for the district provides additional detail on reserve levels and fund-balance composition.

Debt and capital needs

As of May 12, 2026, the district had $47,503,083 in outstanding debt, according to the preliminary official statement for its 2026 borrowing. The 2026-27 budget includes $4,755,107 in debt service, though the district does not publish this figure as a percentage of the total budget. Separately, the district carries a $10,338,708 energy-performance-contract obligation that is reported outside the stated gross indebtedness total. An energy-performance contract allows a district to pay for building improvements through the energy savings those improvements generate, but the obligation still represents a future claim on district finances.

A Building Condition Survey identified $128.75 million in total project costs across all district facilities as of March 12, 2026, according to district capital-project materials. This figure represents the estimated cost of addressing all identified capital needs, not an approved borrowing plan. The district's most recent successful capital bond was a $49.5 million proposition approved by voters in 2022.

Credit ratings

Moody's assigned the district an Aa1 long-term rating and a MIG 1 short-term rating, both with a "new" last-action designation. The Aa1 rating sits one notch below Moody's highest long-term grade of Aaa. The MIG 1 rating is the top tier on Moody's short-term scale. Credit ratings affect the interest rates a district pays when it borrows; higher ratings generally correspond to lower borrowing costs. The bid results for the district's 2026 BAN reflect the pricing achieved in the market under these ratings.

Pension and retiree benefit obligations

For FY2024-25, the district reports pension contributions of $1,843,826 to the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS) and $5,021,588 to the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). The district's total Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability was $222,781,737 as of June 30, 2025. OPEB liabilities represent the present value of future health-care benefits promised to retirees. At approximately $223 million, this obligation exceeds the district's annual budget and will exert recurring pressure on future finances as benefits come due.

The tax levy cap and override threshold

For 2026-27, the district's tax levy increase was 3.72 percent, which the district reported as within the New York State tax-levy cap. Under the cap, a simple majority of voters (more than 50 percent) is sufficient to approve the budget. If the district had sought to exceed the cap, it would have needed 60 percent voter approval. The district has not sought an override in any budget vote on record. The New York tax-levy cap is not a flat 2 percent limit; it is calculated using a base figure adjusted for tax-base growth and certain exclusions, including capital project expenditures and pension cost increases above a specified threshold. The resulting cap varies by district and year. For 2025-26, the recapture provision does not apply to the district.

How a household tax bill connects to the district levy

The district overlaps four towns: Bedford, Lewisboro, North Salem, and Pound Ridge. Each town assesses properties independently, and the district's total tax levy is apportioned among them based on each town's share of the district's total property value. The tax rate for each town is calculated by dividing the town's portion of the levy by the town's total assessed value within the district, then multiplying by 1,000 to produce a rate per $1,000 of assessed value.

For the 2025-26 school year, the tax rates per $1,000 of assessed value were: Bedford $191.439723, Lewisboro $242.188695, North Salem $15.548514, and Pound Ridge $120.845348. The variation in rates across towns reflects differences in how each town assesses property values. A town that assesses properties at a lower fraction of market value will show a lower rate per $1,000 of assessed value, but a home of equivalent market value in that town may receive a tax bill similar to one in a town with a higher rate and higher assessment ratios.

A homeowner's school tax bill is calculated by dividing the property's assessed value by 1,000 and multiplying by the tax rate for their town. For example, a property assessed at $500,000 in the Town of Lewisboro would generate a school tax of approximately $121,094 before any applicable exemptions. The same assessed value in the Town of North Salem would generate approximately $7,774, illustrating how assessment methodology drives the rate.

For context, neighboring districts levy at different rates in the same towns. In the Town of Bedford for 2025-26, Bedford CSD levies at $165.746630 per $1,000 and Byram Hills CSD at $171.438370. In the Town of Pound Ridge, Bedford CSD levies at $104.657800. In the Town of North Salem, North Salem CSD levies at $17.677060. These comparisons show the range of rates across districts operating in the same towns, though differences in levy amounts, enrollment, and assessment practices mean the rates are not directly comparable as measures of tax burden.

Over the five-year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26, the tax rate in Bedford was roughly flat ($192.853300 in 2021-22 to $191.439723 in 2025-26), Lewisboro rose ($211.401170 to $242.188695), North Salem fell ($21.507423 to $15.548514), and Pound Ridge rose ($109.639500 to $120.845348). The gross levy increased from $99,700,394 in FY2022 to $109,490,423 in FY2026.

Taxpayer concentration

The district's largest taxpayer is the City of New York Department of Environmental Protection, with $9,473,295 in assessed value, representing 1.70 percent of the total. Other significant taxpayers include NYC Water ($2,698,200; 0.49 percent), NYSEG ($2,299,123; 0.41 percent), 136 Cantitoe Street LLC ($2,043,565; 0.37 percent), and Four Winds ($1,600,000; 0.29 percent). The presence of large institutional taxpayers, particularly those tied to New York City's watershed infrastructure, means a portion of the tax base is influenced by entities whose assessment status is determined by factors outside the local residential market.

Budget vote history

Voters in the district have approved every school budget on record. The 2021 budget of $113,242,880 passed, as did the 2022 budget of $115,778,990 and the 2024 budget. The 2025 budget of $127,410,469 passed with a margin of 435 votes (744 yes to 309 no), according to election results reported by Patch. The 2026 budget of $131,816,402 passed with a margin of 1,061 votes (1,947 yes to 886 no), as reported by Halston Media.

Beyond annual budgets, voters approved a school-bus purchase proposition in 2021, a vehicle-replacement proposition in 2022, and a $49.5 million capital bond in 2022. In 2025, voters approved a $750,000 electrical-infrastructure proposition (826 yes to 226 no) and a solar-power contract proposition (807 yes to 244 no). In 2026, voters approved a $2,500,000 capital-reserve access proposition by a margin of 1,130 votes (1,983 yes to 853 no). The only defeated measure on record is the 2026 Lewisboro Elementary School renovation bond, a $24,500,000 proposition that failed by 22 votes (1,411 yes to 1,433 no). The narrow margin means the renovation project, as proposed, will not proceed without a revised approach or a subsequent vote.

The municipal and land-use context

Budget governance and the absence of municipal appropriation

The Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District operates under a governance structure in which no municipal body appropriates its budget. The district's Board of Education proposes the annual school budget, and qualified district voters approve it by ballot. This means that the fiscal health of the towns and villages overlapping the district's boundaries does not pass through an appropriating body to KLSD. A town experiencing fiscal stress would not directly reduce or constrain the school district's budget through a municipal budget process, because no such process governs KLSD's funding. The transmission mechanism that exists in some states, where a city council or county legislature sets the school district's appropriation, does not apply here. District residents vote on the budget directly, and the tax levy that results is established through that vote rather than through municipal deliberation.

No district-specific consolidation, merger, or reorganization activity

A targeted search of the district's own site and board and budget materials, New York State Education Department reorganization guidance, and related dockets found no consolidation, merger, or deannexation studies or filings naming Katonah-Lewisboro UFSD. The search was conducted as of July 24, 2026. New York State Education Law Section 2022 and the State Education Department's school district reorganization primer describe the legal pathways by which districts may consolidate, annex, or dissolve, but no party has initiated any of these proceedings with respect to KLSD. The NYSUT fact sheet on school district mergers and consolidations describes the general process and considerations for districts exploring reorganization, but no such exploration is documented for KLSD. In short, no structural reorganization of this district is pending, proposed, or under study according to the available public record.

No district-specific affordable-housing mandate or litigation

A review of county and federal housing-enforcement pages found no 2024 through 2026 district-specific affordable-housing mandate or litigation naming Katonah-Lewisboro UFSD. Westchester County's housing settlement update page and the U.S. Department of Justice housing cases summary page were checked for any matter touching KLSD's boundaries, enrollment, or operations. None was found. The absence of a district-specific housing mandate means that no court order or regulatory requirement is currently compelling KLSD to adjust its enrollment planning, capacity, or attendance zones in response to a housing construction or affordability obligation.

The Edgemont village-incorporation matter: nearby but not affecting KLSD

The only identified municipal-structure movement in the broader geographic context is the proposed incorporation of the Village of Edgemont within the Town of Greenburgh. The Edgemont Incorporation Committee filed its third village-incorporation petition on July 15, 2024, seeking a referendum on creating a new village. Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner denied the petition, and petitioners sought judicial review. On March 6, 2026, the Supreme Court in Westchester County vacated the Town's denial and held the petition legally sufficient under New York Village Law. On April 13, 2026, the Appellate Division, Second Department, granted calendar preference and set an expedited briefing schedule on the appeals. The matter remains in litigation.

The research classifies this movement as bearing on KLSD at the level of "geographic context only." No petition, court order, or study in the record names Katonah-Lewisboro UFSD or identifies a mechanism affecting the district's territory, tax base, enrollment, governance, or budget. The Center for Governmental Research, retained to study the potential fiscal impacts of Edgemont incorporation, modeled alternative municipal tax and service outcomes under differing assumptions about cooperation, service sharing, spending reductions, and allocation of legacy liabilities. CGR presented these as scenarios rather than predictions, and its scope was limited to costs for the proposed Village of Edgemont. The CGR documents do not identify an effect on KLSD.

What municipal changes would affect this district, and by what mechanism

Because KLSD's budget is voter-approved rather than municipality-appropriated, the most direct municipal or structural changes that would affect the district are those that alter its tax base, its enrollment boundaries, or its governance structure. A municipal incorporation within the district's boundaries could, depending on how property tax rolls and service districts are configured, shift the composition of the tax base that supports the school levy. A school district reorganization, such as consolidation or annexation under New York State Education Law, would change which voters are eligible to vote on KLSD budgets and which properties are subject to its tax levy. A court-ordered or legislatively mandated housing development within the district's attendance zone could alter enrollment without changing boundaries, potentially affecting class sizes, facility utilization, and per-pupil expenditure patterns. None of these mechanisms is currently documented as active for KLSD. The district's fiscal relationship to its constituent municipalities is defined by the voter-approval mechanism, and no pending action disrupts that relationship.

Real estate and the price of admission

The Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District spans portions of eleven ZIP codes across northern Westchester County. Zillow's Home Value Index for the ten ZIP codes allocated to the district is $1,067,121 as of April 30, 2026. This figure is a ZIP-level approximation: ZIP boundaries do not align with district boundaries, and the index reflects aggregated single-family home values across those ZIPs, not prices specifically within district attendance lines. The Zillow Observed Rent Index for the one ZIP code with available rental data is $2,765 as of the same date. Both figures derive from Zillow ZHVI and ZORI data, allocation-weighted to the district through the NCES-ZCTA relationship file. Because only one of the district's eleven ZIP codes has sufficient rental listings to produce a ZORI figure, the rent index should not be read as representative of the full district geography.

Two residential projects are in the Town of Lewisboro's planning pipeline. Lewisboro Commons, proposed by Wilder Balter at 100 Beekman Lane in Goldens Bridge, would add twelve units. The public hearing closed on October 15, 2024, and no approval resolution appears in the provided record as of the most recent Planning Board materials. The bedroom mix and tenure of those units are not stated in the Planning Board record. The Villas at Vista project at 920 Oakridge Commons in South Salem remains under review as well; an earlier submission referenced conversion and additions yielding fourteen additional housing units, but the current approved unit count is not located in the provided record. The public hearing for that application was noticed for October 15, 2024, and the application still appears in the 2026 Planning Board Minutes Index. Neither project has a documented student-generation estimate or a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement in the materials reviewed.

The Town of Lewisboro approved an accessory dwelling unit ordinance (Section 220-40.1) in April 2025 as part of broader code amendments accompanying the updated Comprehensive Plan. The record does not quantify any enrollment or revenue effect from this change. Additional zoning code amendments were approved alongside the Comprehensive Plan update, but the materials reviewed do not isolate specific student-generation or tax-base impacts.

On the commercial side, Planning Board records reference approvals adopted January 21, 2025, for improvements to the Mercedes-Benz dealership at 321 Main Street in Goldens Bridge. Technical materials from 2024 describe the site changes. No PILOT or abatement associated with this project appears in the provided record. The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency reports for 2024 through 2025 were checked for district-relevant projects; the record does not identify a specific PILOT or tax abatement diverting revenue from the district within that period.

The district's tax base carries a quantified risk from property tax assessment challenges. A restricted reserve for tax certiorari was recorded at $2,170,956 as of June 30, 2023, reflecting real property tax assessments under appeal across the district. This reserve represents the amount the district has set aside to cover potential refunds if assessments are reduced on appeal. The outcome of those appeals will affect the taxable assessed value base from which future school tax levies are drawn.

A capital vote on Proposition 3, addressing the Lewisboro Elementary School building, is scheduled for May 19, 2026. Project materials describe demolishing part of the building, adding ten classrooms and 10,000 square feet of community space. The district also states that the campus will close at the end of August 2026. No official vote result is located in the provided record. The relationship between this facility decision and the district's overall capital and tax structure is not quantified in the available materials.

The choice ecosystem

New York authorizes charter schools through state-level authorizers rather than through local school districts. The Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District is not a charter school authorizer, and no charter schools operate within the district's boundaries according to the available research. Families residing in the district who wish to explore charter school options would apply directly to charter schools authorized under New York State Education Department charter school regulations, which maintains a directory of charter schools statewide. Admission to oversubscribed charter schools in New York is governed by lottery, as described by Ballotpedia's overview of school choice in New York. The district plays no role in charter school authorization, admissions, or governance.

The district does not operate magnet or themed schools. No magnet programs, lottery-based choice schools, or specialized themed academies within KLSD are described in the district's published materials or in the available research. School assignment follows geographic attendance zones for the district's three elementary schools and the secondary campus comprising John Jay Middle School and John Jay High School.

Several private schools operate in the surrounding area. The Harvey School, serving grades 6 through 12, publishes 2026-27 tuition of $51,590 for grades 6-7, $55,410 for grade 8, and $58,580 for grades 9-12, according to the school's published tuition information. The Montfort Academy, serving grades 9 through 12, publishes 2026-27 tuition of $16,500 with an additional non-refundable registration and student fee of $1,400, according to the school's published figures. Rippowam Cisqua School also operates in the area; tuition and fee information is published on the school's website, though specific figures were not captured in the available research. Families choosing nonpublic schools may be entitled to transportation services from the public school district under New York State Education Department transportation regulations, which establish parameters for busing to nonpublic schools.

New York has no state voucher or education savings account program. EdChoice's state profile for New York and the Education Commission of the States' 50-state comparison of private school choice programs both reflect this absence. A federal education tax credit scholarship program has been discussed at the state level. New York's governor has indicated the state plans to participate, with the program described as taking effect on January 1, 2027, according to a NYSUT post referencing the federal program's launch date. No current KLSD uptake or fiscal effect from this program has been published.

Homeschooling is tracked in New York under the state's home instruction regulations, which require families to file notices of intent and individualized home instruction plans with their local school district. The district tracks homeschool participation, but specific enrollment counts or program details for KLSD were not published in the available research.

Programs, logistics, and special populations

Special Education

The district describes its special education model as a continuum of services that includes support and counseling services, prevention and intervention strategies, and case management, as stated on the district's special education page. A special education review conducted by Public Consulting Group is available in the district's board documents. The specific findings and recommendations of that review are not summarized in the available research. The computed enrollment data does not include an individualized education program count or rate for the district; this figure is reported as missing.

In 2024, the district was involved in litigation related to special education services. According to LoHud reporting from March 2024, Katonah-Lewisboro schools sued over a push to extend special education services to age 22. A subsequent appellate court case from 2025 is documented in New York's Appellate Division, Third Department. The specific holdings and current status of this litigation are not detailed in the available research.

English Learners

The district provides Integrated English as a New Language programming, as described on the district's ENL page. Integrated ENL is a model in which English language instruction is embedded within content-area classes rather than delivered as a standalone pull-out program. The computed enrollment data does not include an English learner count or rate for the district; this figure is reported as missing. No dual language or bilingual education programs are described in the available research for KLSD. The New York State Education Department maintains demographic data and reports on English language learners and multilingual learners statewide.

Pre-Kindergarten

The district operates a tuition-free, full-day Universal Pre-Kindergarten program using a lottery model for admission. Application and lottery windows are posted by the district, and the district has announced UPK lottery reminders through its social media channels. The district uses community-based providers for UPK delivery rather than housing all pre-K classrooms in district buildings. A proposed future Pre-K and Community Center would utilize the former Lewisboro Elementary School, as described on the district's Pre-K and Community Center page. Exact current capacity, lottery results, and waitlist mechanics were not published on the district's UPK program page at the time of research.

Career and Technical Education

Career and technical education pathways are available to KLSD students through Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, a regional educational services agency that shares career and technical programs across multiple component school districts. Three specific programs are documented in the available research. The PNW BOCES Career Academy in Architecture and Engineering provides exposure to those professional fields. The PNW BOCES Cosmetology program is structured around New York State's 1,000-hour cosmetology training requirement, meaning students who complete the program accumulate hours toward state licensure. The PNW BOCES Certified Nursing Assistant program prepares students for New York State CNA certification. John Jay High School maintains a BOCES Tech Center page describing these and other CTE options available to students.

Athletics and Arts

The district reports more than 70 interscholastic athletic teams across modified, freshman, junior varsity, and varsity levels, as described on the district athletics page. The middle school also maintains an athletics page with program information for younger students.

Performing arts offerings at John Jay High School include choral, band, and orchestra ensembles, along with a multi-year actor-training and performance sequence, as described on the high school's performing arts page. General music offerings include courses in theory, history, composition, and music technology. The high school's theater regularly hosts the district concert series, serving as a venue for performances that span multiple schools and grade levels.

Transportation

The district maintains a transportation page with eligibility information. Specific bus eligibility thresholds for KLSD, such as minimum walking distances that trigger transportation service, were not captured in the available research. In New York, transportation eligibility for public school students is established through state law and district policy, while transportation to nonpublic schools follows separate state regulatory parameters that districts must administer.

Bell Times and Scheduling

John Jay High School is moving to block scheduling in September 2026, according to a district announcement. The new schedule will use four 82-minute blocks per day with a 60-minute common lunch, structured across an eight-course, two-day cycle. Under this model, students enroll in eight courses total but attend four per day on alternating days, meaning each course meets every other day for an extended period rather than daily for a shorter period. John Jay Middle School maintains a bell schedule page with current scheduling information. Specific bell times for the district's elementary schools were not captured in the available research.

Before and After School Care

On-site before- and after-school care is available at Increase Miller, Katonah, and Meadow Pond elementary schools through the Country Children's Center. The provider requires a nonrefundable $20 processing and application fee, as described on its program application and payment page. The provider states that the $20 filing fee places the child on its waiting list rather than guaranteeing immediate enrollment. Current queue length and availability were not published. The Country Children's Center's school-age program application provides additional enrollment information for families seeking care.

Calendar

The Board of Education adopted the 2026-27 school calendar on January 29, 2026. Students attend from September 8, 2026 through June 25, 2027, according to the adopted calendar document. The district does not use a four-day school week schedule. The calendar was adopted through a Board of Education vote, meaning the school year start and end dates, holiday breaks, and professional development days are set by board action rather than determined administratively.

Safety, climate, and community

Official safety reporting

New York State requires school districts to report safety incidents through the School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC) collection, a system administered by the NYSED Office of Student Support Services. The SSEC collection covers July 1 through June 30, including summer months, and reports incidents by type with separate counts. The reporting categories include homicide, sexual offenses, assault with injury and serious injury, weapons possession, DASA-verified material incidents covering harassment, bullying, and cyberbullying, bomb threats and false alarms, and drug and alcohol violations, among others. Each category has a specific definition that determines what gets counted: a "material incident" under DASA, the Dignity for All Students Act, is one that involves discrimination, harassment, or bullying based on a protected class and meets a severity threshold defined by NYSED's glossary of reporting terms. Without these definitions, raw incident counts can mislead, because a single serious event may generate multiple category reports, and categories like "weapons possession" capture any incident where a weapon was found on school grounds regardless of whether it was used or brandished. The SSEC data for the 2024-2025 reporting cycle is published as the "Rest of State" dataset, covering all New York school districts outside New York City. KLSD reports into this system as required, and the district maintains a Project SAVE page referencing New York's Schools Against Violence in Education Act, which mandates school safety plans, emergency response protocols, and building-level safety teams.

Federal discipline data

The U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) for the 2021-22 school year provides discipline counts disaggregated by race and gender for students without disabilities. Across the district's five reporting schools, the CRDC recorded 3 in-school suspensions of students without disabilities, all involving White male students. Single out-of-school suspensions for students without disabilities totaled 8: 1 Asian male student, 5 White male students, and 2 White female students. Multiple out-of-school suspensions for students without disabilities were 0 across all categories. The CRDC data on file covers only students without disabilities; disciplinary incidents involving students with disabilities are tracked under separate categories not represented in the computed data available. These figures are point-in-time counts for a single school year and do not indicate rates, recidivism, or the specific incidents that led to disciplinary action. The district reports these figures to the federal government as part of its CRDC submission.

Discipline approach

KLSD's Code of Conduct for the 2025-2026 school year governs student expectations and disciplinary procedures and incorporates the district's obligations under DASA. The Code describes interventions and consequences applied consistent with its framework. The district references a Multi-Tiered System of Supports page, which in general educational practice refers to a framework providing increasing levels of academic and behavioral intervention based on student need. Whether KLSD employs school resource officers, defined as sworn law enforcement personnel assigned to school buildings, is not indicated in the available district documentation or state reporting on file.

Cell phone policy

New York's Education Law Section 2803 requires K-12 schools to implement bell-to-bell restrictions on student use of internet-enabled devices during the school day beginning in September 2025. The law is part of the state's distraction-free schools initiative. Districts must adopt and publish compliant policies that address device storage during the school day and specify permitted exceptions. KLSD's personal electronic devices policy page, posted July 24, 2025, states that the district implements Education Law Section 2803. The page outlines storage expectations that vary by school level and specifies that family contact should go through school office and email channels, with enumerated exceptions for circumstances such as medical needs.

Climate surveys

The district maintains a belonging page on its website. No published climate survey results for KLSD appear in the available source material on file. Climate surveys, where conducted, typically measure student perceptions of safety, belonging, and school connectedness through standardized instruments. The absence of published results in the available documentation means no comparison to state benchmarks or peer districts can be made from the sources reviewed.

Governance and community disputes

Two controversies in recent years illustrate specific points of disagreement between the district and either state regulators or its own electorate.

• Special education age-of-eligibility litigation (2024-2025). KLSD and its board of education challenged NYSED's interpretation that services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must continue until the day before an eligible student's 22nd birthday, arguing the obligation ended after the school year in which the student turned 21. On July 17, 2025, the Appellate Division, Third Department upheld NYSED's interpretation and dismissed the district's petition, which had originated in a March 2024 filing reported by LoHud.

• Lewisboro Elementary School bond (2026). District leaders advanced a bond proposition to renovate the former Lewisboro Elementary School campus for universal pre-K and community uses, a proposal that drew differing community views. Named local journalism reported the bond was rejected by voters on May 19, 2026, and the district's LES path forward page indicates that review of options for the campus continued afterward. The Lewisboro Elementary School had previously been the subject of closure proceedings in 2014, when the board voted to close the school amid community opposition.

These disputes represent specific points of disagreement resolved through legal and electoral processes. They do not, by themselves, describe the district's overall operational stability.

Leadership, governance, and labor

The superintendent of Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District is Raymond Blanch, who was appointed by the Board of Education on June 20, 2024, and took office effective July 15, 2024. Prior to his appointment in Katonah-Lewisboro, Blanch served as superintendent of the Somers Central School District since July 2010, according to reported background information. No posted contract duration or salary terms for his current appointment were located in publicly available materials reviewed for this report.

Blanch succeeded Andrew Selesnick, who retired effective July 12, 2024. Selesnick's retirement was announced publicly, and the transition between the two superintendents occurred within a three-day window in mid-July 2024. Over the past decade, one superintendent transition was identified in the materials reviewed: Selesnick's departure and Blanch's appointment in 2024. No other superintendent changes within the last ten years were identified in reviewed sources, though the reviewed materials do not establish the full start date of Selesnick's tenure.

The district's central administration, as officially listed, includes four positions. Lisa Herlihy serves as Assistant Superintendent for Business. Neill Alleva holds the position of Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. Alexandra Casabona serves as Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services. These officials, together with the superintendent, constitute the district's published cabinet.

The Board of Education consists of seven members serving staggered terms. Barbara Williams serves as President, with a term expiring in 2027. Marjorie Schiff serves as Vice President, also with a term expiring in 2027. The remaining trustees and their term expiration years are: Arwen Thomas Belloni (2028), Carolyn Snell (2028), Stacey Isaacson (2028), Bill Swertfager (2029), and Lorraine Gallagher (2029).

Board elections have been held annually in May. In the May 17, 2022 election, Rory Burke, Elizabeth Gereghty, and Julia Hadlock won three trustee seats; the candidate field size was not specified in reported results. The May 16, 2023 election was contested, with three candidates competing for two seats; Lorraine Gallagher and Bill Swertfager were elected. The May 21, 2024 election was uncontested, with Jon Poffenberger, Marjorie Schiff, and Barbara Williams elected to three available seats. The May 20, 2025 election was also uncontested, with Carolyn Snell, Arwen Thomas Belloni, and Jon Poffenberger winning the three available seats. The most recent election, held May 19, 2026, was contested: five candidates competed for three seats, and Bill Swertfager, Lorraine Gallagher, and Stacey Isaacson were elected. Turnout for the 2026 election was reported at 2,833 voters. No turnout figures for prior elections were located in reviewed materials.

A governance conflict signal arose in 2026 when Trustee Jon Poffenberger announced a mid-term resignation effective April 25, 2026. The district placed the unexpired seat on the May 2026 ballot. The vacancy was filled at the May 19, 2026 election, and subsequent rosters list Stacey Isaacson as seated for the balance of the term. This is the only documented mid-term board resignation identified in the materials reviewed.

The district's sole identified bargaining unit is the Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers Association. A successor agreement was ratified and approved in early 2025, extending through June 30, 2029, according to reported details. As of March 7, 2025, no later report of active negotiations was found. The 2025-2029 teachers' agreement includes class size limits for elementary and secondary grades. No published compliance finding or districtwide compliance metric for these limits was found. No work stoppage history was identified in the materials reviewed for this report.

Regarding state oversight, no active state monitor has been identified for the district. The New York State Comptroller's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System assigned no designation to the district in both FY2024 and FY2023, indicating the district was not flagged for fiscal stress in either reporting year.

Two material litigation matters are documented. The first is Matter of Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District v. New York State Education Department, a civil rights matter concerning the district's obligation to provide special education services to eligible students with disabilities through their 22nd birthday. On March 8, 2024, the Supreme Court entered judgment granting the district's Article 78 petition. On July 17, 2025, the Appellate Division reversed that judgment and dismissed the petition, sustaining the obligation to serve eligible students with disabilities until their 22nd birthday. The matter is currently pending on further appellate review after the July 17, 2025 Appellate Division decision; no final Court of Appeals disposition was located in reviewed materials as of July 2026. If the Appellate Division ruling stands, the district must provide IDEA services to otherwise eligible students through their 22nd birthday; a contrary high-court ruling could alter that obligation.

The second matter is SS et al. v. Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District, No. 7:24-cv-09267 (S.D.N.Y.), also a civil rights case. On August 9, 2024, a State Review Officer reversed a hearing officer and found the district had provided a Free Appropriate Public Education. A federal complaint was subsequently filed in the Southern District of New York on December 5, 2024. On February 9, 2026, the district court granted summary judgment to the district and closed the case. The judgment imposes no relief against the district and leaves the State Review Officer's favorable finding intact. No appeal was verified in reviewed sources as of the date of this report.

Risks and watch items: the forward calendar

The following items represent scheduled or expected events with dates or windows identified in district communications, court filings, or reported developments. Each is a factual calendar entry, not a prediction of outcome.

Lewisboro Elementary School campus and universal pre-K

The district launched an LES Path Forward process on June 4, 2026, and stated that the Lewisboro Elementary campus will close at the end of August 2026. This process follows the reported defeat of a bond proposition on May 19, 2026, that would have funded renovation of the former Lewisboro Elementary campus for universal pre-K and community uses, as reported by local journalism. Several milestones in the path-forward process carry specific dates or windows:

• July 30, 2026: A board presentation of LES/UPK study findings and a question-and-answer session is scheduled. The findings are intended to inform the long-term use of the Lewisboro Elementary campus and the implementation of universal pre-K.
• August 2026: A board discussion to identify a preferred LES/UPK path is expected. The discussion could determine campus use, space configuration, and how universal pre-K is delivered.
• August 2026: The scheduled closure of the Lewisboro Elementary campus, as announced by the district on June 4, 2026. This ends current campus operations while long-term use and pre-K planning proceed.
• September 2026: The district has stated it will begin action steps following the LES/UPK decision, marking implementation of the selected campus and pre-K approach.

Pending appellate review in age-22 special education litigation

The matter of Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District v. New York State Education Department remains pending on further appellate review following the July 17, 2025 Appellate Division decision, which reversed a lower-court judgment in the district's favor and sustained the obligation to serve eligible students with disabilities until their 22nd birthday. No final Court of Appeals disposition was located in reviewed materials as of July 2026. A date for any further court action has not been set in the materials reviewed and is therefore expected but unscheduled. The outcome will determine whether the district must continue providing IDEA services to otherwise eligible students through their 22nd birthday.

Bargaining unit contract expiry

The Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers Association's current successor agreement, ratified in early 2025, expires on June 30, 2029. No active negotiations are currently reported. The next contract cycle would be expected to begin in advance of that expiry date, though no specific negotiation timeline has been announced.

Board of Education term expirations and annual elections

Board member terms expire on a staggered basis, with elections held annually in May:

• May 2027: The terms of Board President Barbara Williams and Vice President Marjorie Schiff expire. Two seats will be on the ballot.
• May 2028: The terms of Trustees Arwen Thomas Belloni, Carolyn Snell, and Stacey Isaacson expire. Three seats will be on the ballot.
• May 2029: The terms of Trustees Bill Swertfager and Lorraine Gallagher expire. Two seats will be on the ballot.

The district's annual budget vote is also held in May. The 2026-27 budget was approved by voters on May 19, 2026. The next budget vote, for the 2027-28 school year, would be expected in May 2027, though no specific date has been formally noticed.

Multi-Tiered System of Supports transition

The district announced on November 26, 2025, a transition from Response to Intervention to an integrated Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS-I), broadening tiered supports for students. This transition is ongoing, and no specific completion date or milestone schedule was identified in the materials reviewed. The transition's implementation timeline is therefore expected but unscheduled beyond the initial November 2025 announcement.

Surprising insights

The AP Computer Science A proficiency rate at John Jay High School in 2023-24 shows a 52.4 percentage-point gap between grade levels: 85.7 percent of tenth-grade test-takers scored 3 or higher, while only 33.3 percent of eleventh-grade test-takers did. This is not a measure of decline; it reflects the self-selected nature of AP exams. A tenth-grader taking AP Computer Science A has likely accelerated into the course early and represents a narrowly prepared group, while the eleventh-grade pool may include a broader range of students. The proficiency rate for each grade-level cell describes only who sat for the exam in that grade, not the full grade-level population, and the dataset does not include the number of test-takers per cell.

The district has no published grandfathering policy. When Lewisboro Elementary School was closed in 2014, available records show the change proceeding without a published districtwide rule allowing displaced students to remain at their previous school or guaranteeing sibling attendance. This means that if a future boundary change or closure occurs, the district would not be bound by any pre-existing commitment to grandfather any group of students.

No published placement mechanism for eighth-grade Algebra I was found in any available district document. The course guide confirms that Algebra I may be completed in either eighth or ninth grade and that students who complete it before grade 9 receive high school credit, but it does not describe whether entry requires a qualifying exam, a teacher recommendation, a minimum grade threshold, or is open to all who request it. A family cannot determine from district documents alone how this placement decision is made.

The district's advanced academics framework contains no International Baccalaureate program. The ceiling is built entirely around 24 AP courses, four college-credit partnerships, two three-year research sequences, and the BOCES New Visions off-campus program. No IB diploma or IB course offerings were identified in any district document among the available sources.

The district's revenue is 85.4 percent local, 13.4 percent state, and 1.2 percent federal, according to FY2023 Census Bureau data. This means the district's fiscal operations are tied to the local property tax base far more than to state aid fluctuations. A homeowner's tax bill is the primary revenue engine for the district, and shifts in state aid have a comparatively small effect on the budget.

Best fit: who this district serves well

A family seeking a self-contained K-12 pathway with no secondary school choice uncertainty will find that this district's structure matches that need. The district operates a single middle school and a single high school, meaning that once a student reaches grade six, school assignment is determined by grade level alone. There is no competing secondary campus, no lottery for middle or high school placement, and no risk of reassignment to a different secondary school within the district. The only school-choice variable is the elementary attendance zone, and even there, all three elementary schools feed into the same secondary pathway.

A student seeking broad access to Advanced Placement coursework has 24 AP courses available at John Jay High School, according to the school's 2025-26 profile. The district also offers two multi-year research sequences in science and humanities, plus college-credit partnerships with the University at Albany, SUNY Westchester Community College, Syracuse University, and Mercy University. A student who wants to pursue sustained, multi-year independent research with outside mentorship can access that through the Science Research Honors or Humanities Research Honors sequences, though no published entry criteria for these programs were found in available documents.

A family that values small district scale may find the enrollment of approximately 2,800 students across five schools aligns with that preference. The district's size means that the graduating cohort was 255 students in 2019-20, which is small enough that students may be known individually by faculty but large enough to support a substantial AP catalog.

A family needing before- or after-school care should investigate availability directly, because no published program details were found in the available sources. The district anticipates offering a full Universal Pre-K program for 2026-27, with access managed by lottery, which may serve families with preschool-aged children if they secure a seat.

Several needs are not currently met by what the district offers. The district does not provide an International Baccalaureate program. No published gifted identification process, screening instrument, or referral pathway was found, so a family seeking a formal gifted program cannot confirm one exists from available documents. The district does not offer general open enrollment for nonresident families, and no published procedure for voluntary intra-district elementary transfers was found, meaning a family cannot request a different elementary school within the district through a documented process. No current building capacity or utilization report was located, so a family concerned about crowding at a specific school cannot verify utilization from published data. The district does not publish a residency re-verification schedule, so families should not assume ongoing audits of enrollment eligibility.

Questions parents should ask

1. What criteria govern placement into eighth-grade Algebra I? The course guide confirms the option exists but does not describe whether entry requires an exam, a grade threshold, or a recommendation. Ask the John Jay Middle School counseling office or the district's curriculum office.

2. How does a student gain entry to the Science Research Honors or Humanities Research Honors sequences? The course guide describes these as demanding multi-year programs but publishes no application, prerequisite, or selection process. Ask the John Jay High School counseling department.

3. What is the current status of the LES Path Forward process, and could it affect elementary attendance boundaries? The bond was rejected in May 2026, and the district has noted potential school configuration impacts without specifying them. Ask the superintendent's office or monitor the BoardDocs portal.

4. Is there a grandfathering policy if elementary boundaries change? No written grandfathering policy was found in district documents, and the 2014 Lewisboro Elementary closure proceeded without a published grandfathering rule. Ask the Board of Education or district registrar.

5. What is the building-level enrollment and capacity at each elementary school? No current capacity utilization report was located in available materials. Ask the district's business office or facilities department.

6. What are the most recent Regents exam proficiency rates by subject and subgroup? The computed dataset does not include Regents results. Consult the New York State Report Card system or ask the district's curriculum office.

7. What is the current graduation rate for the most recent cohort? The data on file is from 2019-20 and shows 99 to 100 percent, but more recent figures may be available. Ask the high school counseling office or check the NYSED Parent Dashboard.

8. Does the district operate a formal gifted and talented program, and if so, what is the identification process? No district document describing a gifted program was found. Ask the district's curriculum office directly.

9. How are AP exam participation rates distributed across the student body? The school profile reports 443 students took 1,105 AP exams, but does not specify what share of the total student body participated. Ask the John Jay High School administration.

10. What is the district's residency re-verification policy? Three documents are required at registration, but no routine audit cadence was published. Ask the district registrar.

11. What before- and after-school care options are available at each elementary school? No published program details were found in available sources. Ask each elementary school's main office.

12. How does the Universal Pre-K lottery work, and what are the odds of securing a seat? The application window closed January 9, 2026, for the 2026-27 program. Ask the district's central office for lottery rules and historical demand data.

13. What is the district's fund balance trajectory, given that the 2026-27 budget uses $3.35 million in reserves to close the gap between recurring revenues and appropriations? Ask the business official or consult the budget documents on the district website.

Scope, method, and sourcing notes

This report covers the Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District, NCES LEA ID 3616080, in Westchester County, New York. It draws on computed data from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for enrollment and school listings, the US Census Bureau Annual Survey of School System Finances (F-33) for FY2023 fiscal data, EDFacts for graduation and chronic absenteeism data, the US Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection for SY2021-22, and New York State assessment records processed through a profile corpus for AP proficiency rates. District-level documents including board policies, course description guides, school profiles, budget presentations, and the district website were also consulted.

Several data limitations should be stated plainly. No long-run enrollment series was available in the computed data; the most recent enrollment figure is a single 2023-24 snapshot of approximately 2,800 students, and the only historical enrollment projection on file is the 2013 district-commissioned demographic study. Graduation data is from the 2019-20 school year and is reported as a suppressed range of 99 to 100 percent for a cohort of 255 students; this figure is several years old and reflects a cohort affected by pandemic-era Regents exam waivers. Free and reduced-price lunch counts and rates are reported as missing in the enrollment data. Individualized education program counts and English learner counts are also reported as missing. No building-level enrollment counts, capacity utilization reports, or school-level assessment breakdowns were available in the computed data. The assessment data on file consists of 65 series spanning 2006 through 2025, but the detailed series provided cover only 2023-24 AP proficiency rates with no historical comparison points. No Regents exam results, SAT or ACT scores from federal sources, or subgroup proficiency breakdowns for any assessment are included in the computed dataset. Child poverty data was unavailable. Market or housing figures, if referenced, are ZIP-level approximations and not district-boundary-precise. The Civil Rights Data Collection figures are from SY2021-22 and predate the most recent district-reported data by several years. Self-reported figures from the district, including the school profile and budget documents, are labeled as such throughout.

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SchoolDecision.com publishes source-attributed profiles of US school districts and schools built from government data and official district documents. It does not rate, rank, or recommend districts. Every figure in this report is traceable to a named source with its vintage, and every gap is stated honestly rather than filled with speculation. The publication's purpose is to give families a factual foundation for their own decisions, not to make those decisions for them.