Greenwich Superintendent's Proposed Budget Would Reduce Staff

GREENWICH, CT — Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools Dr. Toni Jones presented her proposed 2023-2024 operating budget to the board of education last week.

The budget matches the guidelines recommended by the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation. In her presentation, Jones highlighted the current economic climate and called it "an incredibly, incredibly tight" spending plan.

The proposed operating budget weighs-in at $182,165,266, an increase of $5.2 million, or a 2.9 percent increase over the current year's budget — a guideline recommended by the BET.

"We wouldn't bring you a budget we didn't feel like we could operate," Jones explained, while adding that "there's not a lot of wiggle room for any sort of adjustment."

If any unforeseen circumstances arise, such as higher enrollment projections, the district would likely ask for an interim appropriation, Jones said.

The biggest budget driver increase for the district for fiscal year 2024 comes in the form of salaries and other contractual payments at $3.4 million, Jones said.

One of the BET's guidelines for the district was a reduction in staff.

Under Jones' proposed budget, the district would see a net total reduction of 8.0 certified full-time equivalent employees, and 5.1 non-certified full-time equivalent employees.

This would result in a budget reduction of just over $1 million, and provide a savings of about $250,000 for the town in benefits, Jones said.

Jones said the district is "in a very unusual climate from the inflation standpoint."

For example, one of the challenges in this budget cycle is the increased cost of utilities, especially electricity, which represents an increase of $665,000 in Jones' budget.

Jones also said the district is concerned about the cost of substitute teachers, which comes into play when teachers are out sick. Jones said there have been "several hundred cases" of COVID-19 already this school year.

Another challenge for the district in the budget deals with general school supplies and services.

Jones said the district has a per pupil allocation for buying things like paper and school supplies. The elementary per pupil allocation is $265 per student, a number that hasn't changed since 2012, according to Jones.

"We truly are asking all of our buildings to run with less," Jones said.

Jones also outlined a "reduced risk" budget, which reflected spending $313,000 on utilities, matching what the town is tentatively planning on spending; $600,000 for temporary services/substitutes; and $300,000 for facilities overtime.

This budget would represent a total increase of 3.63 percent over the current spending plan.

Board of Education Chair Kathleen Stowe said she was impressed that Jones and her team hit the BET guidlines of a 2.9 percent increase.

The board will discuss the budget in greater detail during a meeting early next month.

Watch Jones' full budget presentation here.