The Greenwich Board of Education opened a lengthy public discussion on the roughly $4 million shortfall the district must close after a recent vote by the Board of Estimate and Taxation.

Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones told the board the district must identify about $4,000,005.87 to balance the fiscal 2026 budget beginning July 1, 2025. Chief financial staff presented five transportation scenarios that trade schedule disruption for savings: small bell-time adjustments that save about $108,000 up to a full high-school start-time rollback to 7:30 a.m. that they estimated could save roughly $2.25 million in annual transportation costs.

The scenarios ranged from minor schedule shifts that reduce one or a few buses to a plan that would return Greenwich High School to a 7:30 a.m. start — the time it had before the later-start policy was adopted — and reduce the bus fleet by 23 units. Administrators described a middle option (scenario 4) that would keep secondary start times unchanged while moving several elementary schools earlier; that plan produced about $1.3 million in savings in the district analysis.

Board members and members of the public raised practical and equity concerns. Several speakers said earlier elementary start times would help working parents who need morning care; others warned that moving high school start times earlier would reduce students’ sleep and could harm learning and wellbeing. Superintendent Jones and transportation coordinator Kayla Coker said the schedules are sensitive: even 5 to 10 minutes can reduce the number of buses that can be redeployed, so small changes can materially affect savings.

The board also discussed revenue options, including charging admission at some athletic events and a proposed “pay-to-play” fee for high-school sports; administrators noted admission revenue for athletics historically is small (administration cited roughly $194,000 in pre-COVID gate receipts) and that pay-to-play would require careful waiver policies for low-income families.

Members of the public and PTA leaders urged the board to seek alternatives that preserve instruction and programs. John Fisher, president of the Greenwich PTA Council, asked the Board of Education to request a reopening of the BET operating budget vote and to seek additional town funding to avoid program cuts. Lillian Perrone, president of the Greenwich Education Association, told the board, “BET, please fund our schools.” Several parents and students also delivered comments urging protection of programs that affect classroom instruction and extracurricular access.

To allow more public input and to give administration time to refine details, Chair Hirsch moved to table any action on the board’s proposed reductions until the board meets again Tuesday evening. Sophie (board member) seconded the motion; the board voted 8–0 to table the decision.

Next steps: administrators will post updated materials after the meeting and the board will hold the follow-up discussion and any vote during the coming week. The board also signaled it will continue to weigh combinations of transportation schedule changes, program reductions and revenue options while trying to preserve classroom staff and core programs.