School board wants to restore $1.96 million to its budget to be used at their discretion

Just when you thought the contentious school budget discussion was over, it's back. At their June 12 meeting, the school board (BOE) voted to request interim funding to restore $1.96 million to their budget without any strings attached. You heard it right, while they really want to restore the high school start time from 7:45 am back to 8:30 am (remember no other nearby school starts as late as 8:30 am), it's really too late to revise the school start plans again. The bus has left the station so to speak.

It's even more messy: To everyone's surprise, at the meeting, the BOE financial team disclosed that the school spending run rate turned out to be less than expected, meaning that the schools would end up this fiscal year with an extra $2 million to $2.5 million to carryover to next year. As the town finance board (BET) chair Harry Fisher said in this letter here, "This is messy. The prospect of the BOE keeping surplus funds was not known when the BET made the decision in April to reduce the growth of the BOE budget." Worse yet, he said, "The town residents, having accepeted the change in start time to 7:45am, now have the expectation that this could be reversed. I hope to dispel that."

Let's remember that the BOE originally requested a large 5.1% increase, amounting to $12 million, in their budget. The BET gave them a 3% increase, amounting to $8 million. Greenwich Public Schools Superintendent Toni Jones and an army of parents, complained bitterly about how difficult it would be to find $4 million of efficiencies. Well, the schools found the $4 million efficiencies by cutting admin costs and, in large part, by changing the bus schedules to 7:45 am, a time that lines up with the schedules of other schools nearby. Now they found another $2.5 million? How does the BET pick up these pieces?

Also unexpected, but not surprising, was a comment made at the meeting about the Old Greenwich School renovation. Based on the bids received, the project may come in over budget and subject to delays.

Between the Lines: The school budget represents well over half the overall town budget. These shifting sands by the BOE undermine confidence in the school board budget.

Meeting video here