Submitted by Brian Raabe
Prudent to say nothing while the Republicans engage in their primary slap fight.
But there is a candidate to highlight in the League of Women Voters Primary guide featured here in the GFP. LWV Greenwich Publishes Republican Primary Voter’s Guide Aug 28, 2025
First, it’s clear all the candidates got in a room and agreed to a canned reply on school funding cuts (read the guide, they all give a similar “hear no evil, see no evil” monotone answer).
But to her credit Sally Bednar went rogue.
From the LWV Candidate Guide:
“I support the decision to reduce the BOE requested 2025–2026 budget by $4 million. The crafty town of Greenwich BOE superintendent flooded school-aged residents’ parents with scary messages of cuts to ALP (gifted program), elimination of some sports teams and other important school aspects. Post the BET vote, the BOE identified $1.8 million of savings by adjusting the GHS start time and associated bus service to 7:45 AM in line with Darien and new Canaan high schools and another 2.4 million of prior funds appeared. The extreme cuts by the superintendent were not necessary or made. It makes sense for the BOE and the BET to be MORE in sync with each other and not hash out in public hearings but negotiate/agree on a budget in advance.”
Let’s unpack this.
First, what dog does Ms. Bednar have in this fight?
Of course she would have voted for a cut. Her background is Board Chair at Fairfield Prep and that’s where she chose to educate her kids.
Sally Bednar saying she is in favor of “reducing the Greenwich School budget” is like me saying I am in favor of reducing farmland in Tanzania. I have zero direct experience with the issue. She has less.
I don’t begrudge anyone sending their kid to private school, not big on purity tests. But don’t come down my street telling me how to run my kid’s school or disparage the administration thereof when your experience in the local schools is limited (or zero).
On disparagement, Ms. Bednar has been an investment banker to institutions of higher learning.
Did she ever call the head of a Texas or California University “crafty?”
Why would that be acceptable here?
This candidate isn’t someone serious about collaboration or “being more in sync.”
Ms. Bednar can’t get through a primary without name calling and suggesting a conspiracy of misinformation that “flooded” the airwaves with “scary messages.”
“Crafty.”
Sheesh, okay …
Or maybe it was a frantic search for funding in the face of a cut.
Maybe Ms. Bednar just heard it through a filter lacking Greenwich School experience and it sounded different.
I don’t think you experienced it Ms. Bednar, but we had a revolving door of Superintendents years ago. We are very fortunate to be past that with Dr. Jones.
Let’s move on to wordsmithing.
I guess the Republican focus groups showed “reducing the budget” sounds better than when Fred Camillo called it an “unnecessary cut.”
You folks can refer to your cue cards and contort yourselves all you want, kids got hammered. That is the fact.
As to the dismissive, “start times are similar to New Canaan and Darien.”
I live in Greenwich.
I couldn’t care less what they’re doing in New Canaan and Darien.
But since it’s been brought up, do those towns have three schools lined up on a 1.3-mile stretch that will now take in 4,000 students within a 15-minute period each morning?
(Chiavaroli: Back to School Traffic and BET Republicans’ Cut to the BOE Budget, Aug 25, 2025)
Finally, what do you mean “extreme cuts were not necessary or made?”
People lost their jobs.
We had chapter and verse seven years ago on why a later start time was good for kids.
Done.
Media centers where kids study and engage in discovery – where they best feed their brains in an unstructured way – are going to be understaffed.
The Greenwich Republican Party of Moving Backward.
Ms. Bednar is too cavalier, has too much demonstrated antipathy (see above), and is too removed from our schools as the most important budget item, to be on the BET.
Yet she has Fred Camillo’s full-throated endorsement. Read from that what it says…
Her message is one all school parents and interested residents need to listen to carefully.
Their gaslighting is supposed to make a 3.0% increase in the Greenwich School budget seem like, well, an increase.
As a former banker Ms. Bednar knows inflation is now nearly 3.0%.
(I thought YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT WILL FIX THAT DAY ONE!!!)
With 3.0% percent inflation, and a budget that moves up 3.0%, growth is ZERO.
But Ms. Bednar and all the BET candidates know there were contractual obligations that had to be met that would drive CUTS at a 3.0% increase.
The BET, Harry Fisher et al -knew the outcome; they pressed the button on their fiscal detonator anyway.
As in Washington – they said what they were going to do and they are doing it, the same is true in Greenwich.
They are content to starve the school system of basic upgrades, reasonable start times and full staffing.
Vote them in and they will do more, they are telling you that – out loud.
All parents of Greenwich School children should listen.
Welcome to day one.
Dark when you woke up?
Me too.