School Start Times Could Change In Greenwich As School Board Looks For Budget Savings

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Board of Education is scrambling to come up with over $4 million in savings following the Board of Estimate and Taxation's vote to reduce the school operating budget request last week, and one option could be to change school start times around the district.

The BET last week reduced the proposed schools spending plan by $4,048,621, but the district must come up with ways to find $4.5 million in savings when factoring in the salaries for positions that were previously funded by the town, and an anticipated 18th pre-K class next school year, Chief Financial Officer Ben Branyan explained during a BOE Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday night.

During the meeting, members discussed solutions to the current budget crunch, and one idea is to change school start times to make bus routes more efficient and reduce the amount of buses needed in the morning by 23, which would be good for around $2.5 million in savings, Branyan said.

"I think we have to look at it. I think it's going to be something that we really have to talk about as a community," added board member Kathleen Stowe, who lamented at the position the school board now finds itself in.

Greenwich High School's start time would change from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., Branyan said, noting the "sheer volume of students at that facility... drives the number of buses you need."

The town's three middle schools - Western, Central and Eastern - would move from 8 a.m. to 8:05 a.m.

Hamilton Avenue School, Julian Curtiss School and New Lebanon School would all move from 8:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Parkway School, which currently starts at 8:45 a.m., would be pushed to 9 a.m., and the remaining elementary schools would start at 8:55 a.m., up from 8:45 a.m.

"The community was very loud in their advocacy years ago to move to a later start time for the teenagers who needed sleep, but I think we've got to consider all our options," BOE secretary Laura Kostin said. "I know that will complicate people's work schedules and child care coordination, but it's something to put on the table."

Kostin said "none of the options are attractive" as school officials look for ways to save money.

"We have to come up with a set of choices, and deliberate where the trade-offs are," Budget Committee Chair Cody Kittle said.

The full school board was set to further discuss the budget on Thursday night, but that meeting was canceled because members need more time to work on the budget.

BOE Chair Karen Hirsh sent a letter to GPS families and staff Thursday afternoon.

"The BOE Budget committee met last night and will need time to put together a list of potential reductions to the budget. The goal is to find areas that have the smallest impact on the classroom as possible. Please know that the superintendent provided the Board with the budget she felt was needed in order to best support the education of our students and that, unfortunately, any reduction to the budget will have some impact on our students and their experience," Hirsh wrote.

"We will continue to keep the community informed as we look to find a way to reduce more than $4 million from our operating budget."

In a note last week to families and staff, Jones said the administration was "very concerned" that the BET's reduction "could have long-lasting consequences."

On Wednesday night, Jonathan Budd, the chief human resources officer for the school district, spoke about possible impacts to positions.

"If decisions are made by the board that affect the details of employees' work, the superintendent and I will work with the necessary parties involved, including the finance personnel, as quickly as possible, as we must issue contracts and salary agreements for next year," he told the budget committee. "We certainly don't want people to panic and leave because they're not feeling confident about their positions, which is why we will implement what you ask us to in a precise and sensitive way."

Jones called the current situation "a challenge."

"We will get through the exercise," she said.

Wednesday's full BOE Budget Committee meeting can be viewed here.