After the Greenwich school board voted May 1 to extend the contract of school superintendent Dr. Toni Jones for two years, they continued discussion about ways to shave $4.1 million from their operating budget for FY 26 – the very budget they previously approved in a vote of 7-1.
The Board of Estimate and Taxation, with Republican chair Harry Fisher using his tie breaking vote, passed the $4.1 million reduction, which Mr. Fisher said was based on an analysis by BET member Karen Fassuliotis.
GEA sign outside Greenwich High School. May 4, 2025
The meeting started when members returned from executive session and took their seats in the Central Middle School auditorium.
Dr. Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony pointed to a poster taped to the table in front of fellow Republican Cody Kittle that said, “37¢/day Small Change. Big impact for students,” a familiar sign around public schools.
The 37¢ is a reference for how much per day in property taxed on a median value home in Greenwich it might cost to make up for the $4.1 million shortfall.
Mr. Kittle removed the sign.
Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones noted at the outset of the meeting there were already 271 people attending remotely.
BOE chair Karen Hirsh said it would be important to give the public opportunity to opine on any possible budget cuts.
Given transportation scenario #5 offered the greatest savings and greatest disruption as it would involve moving GHS start time back to 7:30am from 8:30am, which has been in place since 2017, COO Ben Branyan presented a new transportation scenario, #6 for something of a compromise.
Scenario 6 would result in GHS starting at 7:45am, moving 6 elementary schools a half hour later, and the three Title I grade schools 15 minutes later, for a reduction of 18 school buses and savings of almost $2 million.
Jones said a survey of elementary school parents/guardians about changing start times was telling.
She said there were 1,186 responses to a survey and that quickly grew to 2,000 responses the day before the meeting.
She said the families of elementary school age children wake up earlier and pushing start time later would be difficult for them.
“It’s obviously a big issue,” she said, noting on a bar graph where green represented the percentage of parents responding ‘it would be very difficult for our family.’ Blue represented ‘somewhat difficult for our family.’
Parent/guardian response that moving start time later at elementary schools would be very or somewhat difficult was about76%.
Teacher input about changes to start times was almost the exact opposite as parents/guardians.
“It worked well for our staff. I think they were kind of excited about it,” Jones said.
BOE member Sophie Koven said she did not support scenario 6, especially considering the 8:30am start time at GHS has been in place since 2017 and people had adjusted to it.
“I was a parent at the high school the first time we made this change and attended many meetings where people spoke very eloquently. We had lots of doctors and educators talking about how important sleep is and what a beneficial change this would be. It would be to the detriment of high school students and families to change it back. Everyone has adjusted to this,” Koven said. “If we change it back – whether to 7:30 or 7:45, that first period class, the kid are not really awake, a lot of them are not paying attention, a lot of them haven’t eaten their breakfast, they’re kind of sleepy and hungry. I think there are academic impacts and impacts to mental health.”
Kathleen Stowe said the budget shortfall boiled down to a choice of, “Are the kids going to get up earlier or are we going to cut their teachers?”
“I think we have no choice but to do something to the high school,” Stowe added, noting that the biggest savings would come from changing start time there.
Ms Hirsh said when start times changed in 2017, it was ‘a very slippery slope.’
“We jumped in with both feet to support the mental and physical health of our high schoolers based on scientific studies. I hate to be making this decision solely on the financial,” she said.
Dr. Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony said “loathe” was a good word.
“There are lot of options, none of them great, but I think it would be incorrect to look at scenario 5 or 6 changing GHS start time as easy because it doesn’t touch academics. I think it does touch academics,” he said.
“We saw finally in Greenwich Together survey just last week some positive trends. All of our social and emotional data, coming out of Covid, and the conversations this community had 8 years ago, to go back on that for what seems not a reason grounded anything other than to reach a number is unfortunate,” Mercanti-Anthony added.
He asked why the 3 title one elementary schools already started a half an hour earlier than the other elementary schools (8:15 instead of 8:45).
Dr. Jones later explained that those schools run earlier because the parents need to get to work.
Ms Stowe said she’d heard an earlier start would help athletes getting “up the coast” for competitions before rush hour and for more daylight.
Wendy Vizzo Walsh joked, “Cody and I – we are both products of the 7:30am start time and we did survive.”
“For all these students and angry parents who are emailing us – I think getting home from sports is always a plus, because you can eat dinner, do your homework and get to bed earlier,” Ms Vizzo Walsh said. “7:45 is a good start time. It’s not as bad as 7:30am.”
Laura Kostin said, “I think we should remind the BET once again that we gave them $4.0 million in revenue, and we should send them a bill for $2 million for the private school busing so the town can cover that.”
“I’d be remiss to remind my peers that the reason we have to pay for private school busing, which makes no sense to me, is the mandate from the people in Hartford,” Mr. Kittle said.
Ms Hirsh noted private school busing is not paid for if the school reaches a certain threshold of local students.
Dr. Jones said that private school information was reported annually and that Eagle Hill was on the cusp of not qualifying.
“I’ve already met with them twice in the last few months. They are on notice that if they have the same percentage in the fall that they have right now, that they will have to pay for their own buses because it has to do with how many students live in Connecticut and how many live in New York that attend their school.”
Ms Hirsh said the costs of private school busing was previously paid for by the town, but had been switched over to the public schools budget.
Ms Stowe proposed a SOMR endorsing scenario 6, seconded by Ms Hirsh, but there was no consensus.
From there they discussed what Laura Kostin described as “other horrible options.”
Ms Stowe said based on the previous week’s discussions, cuts to ALP and “pay-to-play” sports were off the table.
“I think we’re now at the next set of options,” Stowe said.
Dr. Jones said the (above) list of possible cuts was generated by input from GOSA, GEA, BOE, and community members.
Positive Pathways and Extended Day at Hamilton Avenue Schools
They discussed cutting Positive Pathways, a program not yet implemented, but being built build in elementary schools specifically for children who are more “disregulated.”
“And as you know we’ve been seeing a positive turn in the number and percentage of students who are out-placed, which again allows us to have a more positive budget where we can put dollars where we need them,” Jones said. “I know it’s easy to cut it because it doesn’t exist, but that $343,000 actually saves money.”
Jones said outplaced children take a 45-minute bus ride to the area of Ansonia.
“Most of those parents would rather have their children be able to go to a neighborhood school in Greenwich,” she said.”It’s challenging to cut it because it’s going to cost us more.”
Jones said the second new initiative proposed to be cut was to the Hamilton Avenue Extended Day.
Reduction in Physical Education
Dr. Jones said a reduction in minutes for K-5 physical education could reduce 2.o FTE.
“This does shave minutes from PE,” she said.
Cut Grade 3 World Languages
The next possible cut was for world languages in grade 3, to reduce 2.0 FTE
“Instead of doing away with all world languages, the proposed cut is to eliminate the grade 3 program. It says 2.0 but you have to calculate the number of students for next year first.”
Cross Teaming at CMS
Fifth, she said was looking at “cross teaming” at Central Middle School.
“They have some co-horts that are a little smaller. This board talked about being committed to teaming,” Jones said adding that would reduce 2.0 FTE.
House Restructure at GHS: Eliminating one House
Restructuring the five GHS houses would reduce 5.0 FTEs: a house administrator, dean, assistant dean, counselor and administrative assistant.
Dr. Jones said Cantor House was added around 2003, after a year long study because the the high school was nearing the enrollment threshold of 3,000 students, which was very large. That addition meant an additional house administrator.
She said the dean and assistant dean positions were created around 2012 under former school Superintendent Sidney Freund to help with discipline.
The five assistant dean positions were previously .4 FTE for each house, but over time they became full time.
Adult education is required by law. The proposed cut is to avoid having a GOSA (administrator) doing that work.
Print shop. The district used to run a fully functioning print shop, both for the Town of Greenwich and for the schools, but after a flood in the Havemeyer building, they switched to an outside service in Stamford and use of a courier.
“This cut would eliminate that function. People would need to take care of their own copying,” Jones said.
Schoology is software that provides a centralized hub for personalized teaching and learning. Jones today Schoology and Google Classrooms are both used, but migrating everyone to Google Classrooms would save a small amount of funds and cutting the fees for Schoology would save $32,000.
The final possible cuts were to curriculum and instructions materials (saves $100,000) and eliminating a professional development consultant ($100,000).
Discussion
Sophie Koven said the Positive Pathways program was intended to help bring down the cost of special education, and to improve the quality of special ed services for the district’s most vulnerable students.
“It feels deeply ironic to cut a program that has been thoughtfully developed to meet the news of those students,” Koven said. “This feels penny-wise and pound foolish.”
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Ms Hirsh said all the cuts in discussion would have a negative impact on students.
“We are in this situation, and the public has heard it, and there have been discussions and articles. And there have been emails and outcries about this situation. Frankly, it is a situation that does not need to be. We are impacting students. Students are not dollar signs.”
Ms Kostin said, “All of these ideas diminish our programs. It’s not what our students and families would benefit from. Obviously I think it’s all garbage.”
Wendy Vizzo Walsh said, “I think we are looking at the wrong things. We’re not really even looking at administrative bloat. I saw 105 administrative assistants.”
Ms Hirsh said a lot of administrative assistants jobs entail farm than one might think.
“We have 500 less students in our school district, but yet we have 20 more teachers. We should get back to the 2019 levels,” Vizzo Walsh said.
“We don’t have 20 less,” Hirsh said, going on to explain that there is more need today than in 2019, including for students that need academic and psychological supports, as well as the special education program.
Also she said preschool, which is state mandated, has required additional staff.
Dr. Jones said, “All of this data is out there. We presented the budget in November. We have done hours of meeting, hours of information and data. We have graphs and charts that show that we have gone from 11% to 16% in special education. You must, by law, have staff in order to teach those children and provide services.”
Jones added that the slight decline enrollment meant when a classroom teacher was freed up, it was possible to move that person to special education.
There was some discussion about eliminating Positive Pathways being shortsighted given the goal is to reduce outplacement, which costs $128,000 on average annually.
Hamilton Ave School Extended Day, a program the BOE supported, could be pushed back a year, but Dr. Jones noted it was also a way to “bring kids back” from outplacement, retain and support them.
Dr. Mercanti-Anthony said it was not ethical keep programs for accelerated students while cutting programs targeting students to get them to grade level.
“I look at ALP as the other end of special education,” Ms Hirsh said. “You’re still providing special education for students who need more, but in a different way.”
“I like these two programs. I like the Hamilton Avenue School one a lot,” Mr. Kittle said. “There’s lots of other areas to focus on.”
As for eliminating grade 3 world language, Ms Stowe said, “I don’t know of any high performing school district that doesn’t offer foreign language in the elementary school level.”
As for CMS cross-teaming, Ms Stowe said while today they have a slightly smaller student population, since the school is being rebuilt, there will likely be an increase in enrollment.
“To make a change to the teaming model at CMS, where the other two middle schools have that teaming model, will give more opportunity for kids to fall through the cracks,” Hirsh said.
She said she was “exceptionally concerned” about possible change to the structure to the GHS house administrators to save 5 FTEs, especially if school start time changes.
“I think it’s absolutely inappropriate of us to place the brunt of all of these budgetary reductions solely at the high school level,” Hirsh said. “It’s much harder than it was in the past to provide support for these students.”
No one opposed the restructure of Adult Education, saving $72,000 or closing the Print Shop 1 to save $84,000.
Ms Vizzo Walsh asked about how many students were assigned to each house, and what was the case load per counselor.
Jones said she’d get those numbers.
“I find it mind blowing that we as a district are actually have to consider cutting curriculum and instructional materials that aid the students in their learning, and cutting into their potential,” Ms Behette said.
“I hear you,” Stowe said. “We all agree in some form on (reducing costs of) transportation and we’re all between that 7:30 and 7:45am start time at the high school…I think we have to go back to the drawing board on the other items.”
Hirsh said she’d respectfully ask the BET to urgently reopen discussions on the FY25-26 schools operating budget.
She noted the RTM spoke strongly as well with their SOMR asking the BET to reopen the budget discussions.
“We are prepared to work with the BET, and consider reasonable reductions where feasible,” Hirsh said. “However a cut of $4.1 to $5 million is far beyond what we can absorb without causing irreparable harm to our educational program.”
“The impact of these cuts is not abstract. Reductions of this scale threaten the educational opportunities we offer our students and are going to jeopardize the longstanding reputation of Greenwich Public Schools,” Hirsh said.
Ms Hirsh asked if the board members would sign an open letter to the BET she was drafting.
“I would not be in support of that letter,” Kittle said. “I don’t think we have fully done our job. What I observe are mostly political theatrics here.”
“The way the board has decided to operate starting tonight is to ignore the Republican caucus’s view. My hope was we would be more constructive about this. You can do that because you have five votes for a letter, but definitely you do not have my support.”
A motion to adjourn was approved.
Ms Hirsh and Ms Behette went on to draft an open letter to the BET the following day.
See also:
BOE Chair, Vice Chair to BET: Now more than ever, students in Greenwich need increased support May 2, 2025
Greenwich Board of Education Extends Superintendent Jones’ Contract Two Years May 3, 2025
Big Support at RTM for SOMR Requesting BET Reopen Vote on 2026 Schools Budget after Passing a $4.1 Million Cut April 22, 2205