Special Edition
BET Republicans push through secret school budget cuts
On October 21, on a party-line vote, Republicans on the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) pushed through budget guidelines for next year that include another cut to Greenwich Public Schools—and now they want to keep the guidelines hidden.
Here’s what happened:
1: Republican BET members arbitrarily set the schools’ budget target below what’s necessary to cover contractual increases in teacher salaries and transportation costs.
2: The guidelines — drafted in secret without input from Democratic members — will effectively reduce the schools’ budget by $3.7 million. That’s on top of the $4 million cut they already imposed in April of this year.
3: When asked to include language stating the guidelines were a “starting point” and “not a cap,” every Republican voted no.
4: Republicans forced a late night vote, passing the guidelines over the objections of their Democratic colleagues.
5: Now, in violation of their own operating rules, Republican BET Chairman Harry Fisher announced that he’s withholding the guidelines from the public until after the Nov. 4 election!
Reactions to news about the guidelines were fast and furious. “The new parameters issued last week were created on the fly, during a late night meeting, without considering the actual budget drivers and without doing all the math,” wrote Riverside resident Heather Knapp.
“Simply stated, Mr. Fisher does not have the authority to withhold a public document voted on by the BET,” write Democratic BET members David Weisbrod and Leslie Moriarty. “If the BET Republicans favor ramming through their agenda without bipartisan consultation and so obviously at odds with the will of the community – it should be visible to all. Suppressing a public act after the fact not only violates FOIA but violates the trust that public officials owe to those who voted to put them in office.”
Our schools, our students, and our community deserve transparent governance and responsible BET budgeting — not secrecy and gaslighting. You can make that happen with your vote for all 6 BET Democrats on Row A.
| October 29, 2025 |
| Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee. |
| Greenwich Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 126 Greenwich, CT 06836 |