Teachers, union leaders and PTA urge BET to avoid further school staffing cuts

Union and parent leaders urged the Board of Estimate and Taxation to protect school programming and staffing, warning that proposed budget guidance and cuts risk eroding the district’s instructional capacity.

Margaret Jackins, president of the Greenwich Education Association, said the school budget has grown more slowly than neighboring towns and warned that ‘‘the excellent is not self sustaining’’ without consistent investment. She asked the BET to increase its guidance for the 2027–28 figures to avoid further erosion of services.

Lisa Sylvester, PTA Council president, called attention to proposed personnel reductions in the current education budget, saying the proposal includes cuts to four full-time teachers at Central Middle School and 6.5 positions plus one administrator at Greenwich High School. "We urge you to please leave the school budget as is," Sylvester said.

Lucia Janssen and other speakers framed the school requests in the broader context of the town’s budget. Janssen cited the BET guidelines used this cycle (town departments limited to 2.75% increases and the Board of Education to 3.25%) and urged the BET to bring spending into alignment with those targets and to avoid adding to the capital backlog.

No formal decision was made at the hearing; the BET will consider these concerns ahead of Decision Day on March 31 at 09:00.