With the board Greenwich Board of Education having voted 7-1 on Dec 18th to approve the $207,178,854 20267-27 operating budget as presented by the superintendent, not everyone was happy with the process.
The night of the December 18 budget vote was memorable in part for the motion sickness bags distributed to the school board from GHS PTA Co-president John Fisher near the start of the meeting.
Mr. Fisher held up a motion sickness bag when he addressed the board, saying, “I feel the urge to vomit every time someone says the school budget needs to adhere to alleged guidelines, as if they are sacrosanct commandments from above. They are not. They were rushed to a vote by a lame duck BET.”
It seemed there were some hard feelings last week.
GHS student body vice president Colin Reynolds said the process had not allowed enough time for public comment.
GHS student body vice president Colin Reynolds said the approval process did not allow enough time for public public comment.
Colin noted the original 26-27 budget was made public on Nov 6, though a meeting that day was canceled due to lack of quorum.
The first meeting in which public comments were fully heard was on Nov 20.
“With only two weeks notice, teachers, students and parents were required to adjust their already busy schedules to fully comprehend the changes outlined in the proposed budget,” Colin said. “On Dec 8, the budget was discussed and approved. However, there was not sufficient time for community members to share their feedback, and no time for the board to reflect on the input received. Also GHS’s candlelight concert was the same day, causing many interested in speaking to be unable to attend.”
“Nov 20, just two weeks after the proposed budget was introduced, marked the last meeting in which public comments were heard with enough time to resonate with the board.”
Colin said in previous years the school board held a budget meeting to address this concern, but that meeting was eliminated and replaced by a retreat during which no public comments were allowed.
“The justification for this decision was that the meeting was not well attended in years prior. However, given the decision to eliminate numerous teaching positions, it should have been evident that this issue would prompt significant public concern, and a large number of individuals wishing to speak.”
Additionally, he recalled the considerable attendance at the Nov 20 meeting, with over 40 speakers, which he said indicated more discussion was necessary before a vote.”
Colin said it had only recently come to his and other students’ attention, through Dr. Jones, that the reduction in teaching staff did not involve terminations, but rather the decision not to fill vacant positions when teachers retire or leave the district at the end of the school year.
He said other misunderstandings could have been clarified by holding student government budget workshops.
Similarly, Lisa Sylvester, president of the PTA Council used her three minutes to talk about transparency in the budget process.
“We know sometimes with transparency there is understandably incredible emotions, including anger. Those emotions drive people to come out to these meetings and speak up for what they need and what they want for their schools,” she said.
“It is disheartening that at the last BOE meeting where you took a vote on the new budget, there was no discussion. It was déja vu back to a BET meeting last school year, where we all came out month after month, urging, pleading and sometimes crying – and none of it mattered,” Ms Sylvester said.
“As members of the community who voted for you because you ran on transparency, openness to listen and doing what the community wanted, the last BOE meeting and the vote on the budget was a big blow.”
“When decisions appear to be finalized before the meeting even begins, it diminishes the democratic process. That is damaging to our students and teachers. The majority of us felt that we were not listened to, again, and that our input did not matter.”
BOE member Karen Kraus said members went through the budget line by line and sent three rounds of questions to Superintendent Dr. Jones, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Ben Branyan and the budget team, and read hundreds of email comments.
“Next year, as we approach this, I will do a better job to ask more of my questions in a public forum,” Kraus said. “And I do like the idea of a workshop where people can ask questions and hear the answers live.”
Dr. Jones said she liked the idea of a budget workshop with student government.
“Student government always asks great questions. You hear how articulate they are. They’ve been great budget watchers since last year,” she said. “I suggested to them, we’re happy to do a budget workshop for student government because the student voice we also want to carry accurate information.”
Jones reminded the board the budget was unique this year given the new legislation that allowed the non-lapsing account of $2.5 million to carry over, making the budget seem lower than it was.
Jones has previously said her proposed budget actually represents a 4.4% increase.
On Jan 27 the First Selectman will present his proposed budget, followed by the Jones presenting the school budget in the town hall meeting room.
See also:
Jan 14, 2026
Dec 21, 2025
Greenwich School Board Agendas Are Overshadowed by Budget Cut Climate
Oct 29, 2025
BET Cuts $4.1 Million from Greenwich Schools: Audience Chants “Shame on you”
April 4, 2025