Newsletter Volume 3 • Number 39
From shuttering the US Dept. of Ed., to crippling Greenwich Public Schools, look no further than the GOP in our own town
It’s a Greenwich resident who is dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, and the result could cost Connecticut $320 million, and Greenwich $3 million, in assistance aimed at children from low income families, students with disabilities, student loan applications and standardized testing.
Pro wrestling executive and Greenwich resident Linda McMahon is President Trump’s freshly appointed Secretary of Education. She’s moving at full steam to demolish her own department in what Trump blithely describes as “putting herself out of a job.” And now she has help from another townie, Stephen Warzoha, vice chair of the Greenwich Republican Town Committee, who was recently tapped to be McMahon’s White House liaison. Half the Dept. of Ed staff is facing the ax.
“Nobody wants this,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, “nobody in America wants the destruction of public education. This is deeply unpopular.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has joined a coalition of 20 other states bringing suit to block the Trump cuts. “Donald Trump, his unelected billionaire wrecking ball Elon Musk, and their enabler Linda McMahon want to destroy the Department of Education, Tong asserted, “and they do not care what harm this inflicts on our kids and teachers. This is not a meme or an empty threat. These are core support systems for our schools across Connecticut and the country. Congress did not authorize this, and American families do not want this.”
GPS was already facing draconian cuts from the town finance board’s Republicans
Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) are already grappling with threats by Republicans on the town Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) to cut up to another $4 million. School Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones has been clear about what that would mean: losing teachers and staff. “It’s 40-45 positions, and I don’t say that lightly because I don’t have any idea where those positions would come from,” Jones told the BET.
The gap between what GPS says they need and what BET Republicans want to provide stems largely from:
- A $1.4 million shortfall from expiring federal COVID money and a loss of Title I funding
- Rising special education and transportation costs
- And what Democratic BET member David Weisbrod described as an error of $1.7 million from the BET underestimating contractual teacher salary increases
And none of that takes into account the $3 million that Linda McMahon’s Dept. of Ed. closures could add to it. It’s a potential $7 million hole our schools and taxpayers might have to absorb. “There are still services that need to be delivered. So it’s the town budget that gets hit,” pointed out Democratic BET member Leslie Moriarty.
Nevertheless, BET Chair Harry Fisher, pulling from the GOP national playbook, promises that majority Republicans plan to push for additional reductions to the Greenwich Public Schools budget, and refuses to provide any details.
Speak up for our schools
Residents have one last opportunity to address the finance board before the BET takes its final votes. A public hearing on the school budget is slated for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26th at Central Middle School (9 Indian Rock Lane). People who cannot attend are encouraged to submit comments to the BET here.
Your flu vaccine is safe… for now
We’re starting to see what it will mean to your health now that a man who is promoting cod liver oil to “dramatically” reduce measles deaths is heading U.S. health policy—a man who said, “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and is suggesting we let the bird flu run rampant in poultry “so that we can identify the birds… that are immune to it.” (Left unsaid: Millions of bird infections give the virus millions of chances to mutate into something deadly to humans.)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a clear and present danger to your health. Just weeks ago the Food and Drug Administration abruptly canceled a biannual meeting of virologists who help determine the vaccine formula to combat each flu season’s mutating bugs. Kennedy claims the nation’s top disease doctors have “severe, severe conflicts of interest,” allegations that reporting has convincingly refuted.
This flu season has seen the most infections since 2009, and at least 23,000 deaths. But 37 million Americans took this year’s vaccine, which can reduce your risk substantially. Upending the process to produce next year’s vaccine, an annual medical miracle, is criminally negligent.
Fortunately, last week, after intense, bipartisan criticism, the FDA held an unannounced, closed door meeting, albeit without the outside virologists, and recommended a flu vaccine formula in time for its manufacture and distribution this fall.
But what about next year?
The U.S. has just pulled out of the World Health Organization, a forum where experts from every country in the world exchange information on emerging threats. “There is no way that you can isolate yourself from the world and be safe from the many health threats that don’t respect borders—infectious diseases being just one of those,” laments Dr. Stefano M. Bertozzi, an internationally renowned health professor at the University of California.
Now it appears, your next vaccine may depend on the whims of RFK Jr. and his band of cod liver oil peddlers instead.
What we’re reading
Violator oversees his violation
The Greenwich Free Press reported on another troubling appointment by First Selectman Fred Camillo. Camillo appointed Michael Goldstein to the town Conservation Commission. The commission oversees environmental affairs staff who also enforce the actions of the town Wetlands and Watercourses Agency. That agency cited Goldstein with a cease and correct order for what is considered the largest violation of wetlands rules since it was created. Goldstein has yet to make the necessary fixes.
A group of residents published an editorial with their concerns: “Now, Mr. Camillo’s appointment of Mr. Goldstein to the Conservation Commission puts Goldstein in charge of the people overseeing his case. This is a clear conflict of interest, whether or not Mr. Goldstein uses his position to influence the Agency’s work.” Last year we reported on another Camillo conflict of interest, when he signed on as a $10,000 per year consultant for a company that makes frequent permitting requests to the town.
Action Calendar
March 23. March!
March with us in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Meet up in the parking lot behind Town Hall, 101 Field Point Road, 1:30 p.m. Info here.
March 24. Learn.
Community conversation with State Treasurer Erick Russell, moderated by Rachel Khanna. 6:30-8:00 p.m., YWCA Greenwich, 259 East Putnam Ave. RSVP here.
March 26 & 27. Speak.
Testify at the budget public hearings. March 26, schools budget, Central Middle School, 7:00 p.m. March 27, town budget, Town Hall Meeting Room, 7:00. You can submit written testimony here.
April 3. Sing.
Join us for a fun-filled night of music, laughter, and great company on Thursday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. at Old Greenwich Social Club, 148 Sound Beach Ave., Old Greenwich. RSVP
April 3. Watch.
Celebrate Earth Day by learning about the tiny house movement in this screening of The Box Truck Film, followed by a Q&A with the film’s directors. Massey Theatre at Greenwich Academy, 5:30 p.m. RSVP here.
April 10. Engage.
Hear our State Comptroller Sean Scanlon discuss the impact of federal decisions on our state budget, and get your questions answered. Moderated by Rachel Khanna. 10:00-11:30 a.m., YWCA Greenwich. RSVP here.
| Volume 3, Number 39 • March 20, 2025 |
| Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee. |
| Greenwich Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 126 Greenwich, CT 06836 |