To the Editor:
The recent maneuver by the Board of Education to request nearly $2 million in mid-June—under the guise of addressing high school start times but, in reality, seeking broad discretionary funding—reveals a concerning willingness to manipulate public perception and process alike.
The facts matter. The Town Charter plainly requires interim appropriations to be tied to identified, immediate needs. The BET cannot act on FY26 appropriations until July 1. And yet, the BOE, led by a Democratic majority, has voted to advance a request with neither a defined account nor a purpose, relying instead on an ambiguous interpretation of a letter written by three Republican BET members.
That letter, regardless of its tone or phrasing, was not a green light for circumventing fiscal prudence or bypassing legal procedure. To treat it otherwise is not only disingenuous—it risks eroding public trust in our institutions.
Greenwich residents deserve better than stagecraft masked as governance. They deserve clarity, not confusion; discipline, not drama. We cannot allow carefully constructed public expectations—such as the agreed-upon GHS start time—to become bargaining chips in a budgetary sleight of hand.
Manipulating the public through implication and ambiguity demeans the integrity of the democratic process.
Eventually, the public will see through the shell game being played by the Board of Education that has nothing to do with actual education.
It is the job of the Board of Education to educate, not obfuscate; to model responsibility, not opportunism.
As Orwell warned, truth-telling is often revolutionary. Let us then commit to governing not by suggestion, but by substance. In this, I commend BET Chairman Harry Fisher for speaking plainly. Let the town move forward on solid ground, not political quicksand.
Jackson Pointe
