Submitted by Brian Raabe, Old Greenwich
We enjoy more than two decades as a Greenwich family. My wife grew up here. Our kids have all gone to public school here and onto great universities due to the education received. My mother-in-law is a Nathaniel Witherell resident. We enjoy Tod’s Point, a professional police force, and pristine parks.
The BET Republicans posted a letter on this platform (BET Republicans: BET Democrats Abandon Budget Talks April 1, 2025) on Tuesday accusing Democrats of theatrics in walking out of yesterday’s budget meeting.
Wrapped in the mantle of fiscal prudence they suggest the Democrats are simply not a serious counter party to negotiations. But absent politics and party how can one embrace a $4MM school budget cut? How can one snap the flag of “tough choices” in the face of the most vulnerable among us, whether in special needs programs at the high school or living their final years at Witherell?
We are not a town of us versus them. The largest voting block (40%) in town is registered as independent. We are a town with a school system that is the envy of the nation.
We are a town that educates and produces future leaders, that cares for its elderly, that is a destination for its quality of life.
There is no shortage of young couples, as my wife and I were decades ago, that come to Greenwich to start a family, enticed by stellar schooling, Grade A services, and community.
So kindly silence your acidic, partisan letter writing. Internalize the notion that he that “loves his party most, loves his country least,” and set about finding the money for the TOP priorities in this town we ALL love.
Perhaps naïve on my part, regardless. The 11th hour is here a second time thanks to what some denigrate as “theatrics.”
Let doing the right thing govern the BET’s approach, versus the politics of the moment. Fund the schools, fund Witherell.
Fund the future of the Town of Greenwich.
Brian Raabe,
Old Greenwich