Letter to the Editor

QUIGLEY: The Politics of the School Budget Debate and its Aftermath

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Submitted by Dan Quigley, RTC chair

For the better part of the spring in Greenwich as the COVID virus swept into town like a dense fog, our community was engaged in a spirited though sometimes ugly debate about the Board of Education budget. Those who agreed with the BET Republicans request that all Town departments, including the BOE maintain a flat budget for the upcoming fiscal year were cast as being “against schools” or “betraying children”. Those who disagreed positioned themselves on the moral high-ground and made a furious case that the BOE alone among all departments should be given a budget increase. This simplistic and extremely disingenuous portrayal of the debate did a great disservice to what should have been an honest and perhaps, illuminating public discussion about budgeting through a crisis. It has also caused significant distress to many in our community. Continue Reading →