The Board of Education on Monday voted 6-2 to change to a school start times schedule that will see elementary schools start first in the morning (at 7:50 a.m.), followed by grades seven through 12 (8:30 a.m.) and then grades five and six (9:15 a.m.). Dubbed “Scenario A” by New Canaan Public Schools officials, the […]
New Canaan School budget reduction erodes culture of trust
Grace Duffield
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New Canaan High School in 2019.Grace Duffield / Hearst Connecticut Media
All nine Board of Education members have signed a letter speaking out against the $3.1 million that the Board of Finance removed from its budget.
The letter requests that Town Council work with the Board of Finance to accelerate the timing of a special appropriation or rework the BOF’s amended version of the Board of Education budget.
The changes to the budget “erodes a long-standing culture of trust and respect between our boards and is a departure from collaborative governance processes of years past,” the letter signed by the school board members reads.
The New Canaan Board of Education (BOE) is an elected body whose mission, under state statute, is to govern the town’s public schools, including oversight and spending of town, state, and federal government-allocated funds. We proudly serve as representatives and advocates for the New Canaan community and prioritize the success of the district and its students.
The Board of Finance cut the requested BOE budget by $3.1 million. In developing its budget, the BOE again fulfilled its promise to the community by providing a detailed annual forecast of the funding needed to continue providing high quality programming for New Canaan’s students. The BOE budgets for its anticipated needs to run the schools and meet its obligations to the community. The Board of Finance has attempted to rationalize this cut as a deferral of funding. Deferral of funding is inaccurate and does not work.