Newsletter Volume 1 • Number 39
If you receive the First Selectman’s weekly Community Connections newsletter, you may have read his claim this morning that our state representatives distorted his position on funding for Old Greenwich School. Oh really?
Mr. Camillo wrote, “At no time was the building of two schools at once on the table, according to BET guidelines.”
Let’s correct the record. In January, the First Selectman announced during his budget presentation that the Board of Education (BOE) had requested $24.5 million for the Old Greenwich School (OGS). He decided to allocate $0 in the FY24 budget for OGS and moved the project to FY25.
Mr. Camillo cited the Republican BET majority’s budget guidelines in deciding to delay the OGS renovation.
That is a made-up restriction!
There is no town rule that requires funding only one school project at a time. In fact, last year’s capital budget slated construction money for both Central Middle School and Old Greenwich School.
As the town executive, it is the job of the First Selectman to propose the budget the town needs and then see that budget through.
The First Selectman does not answer to the BET. He answers to the voters.
At the March 29th budget public hearing Mr. Camillo said he now supports $1.1 million for the Old Greenwich School in FY24. We commend the First Selectman for amending his initial zero dollar proposal, although we regret that this delay will cost taxpayers an additional $2 million.
But we reject his claim that the Old Greenwich School building committee bears any fault. All the building committee has done is state that if the project is not funded in FY24, then they need $1.1 million to continue their design work. We applaud our state representatives, themselves constituents of Greenwich, for advocating on behalf of Greenwich Public Schools.
We need facts, not fiction.
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