Greenwich voters heading to the polls next week will again face a Board of Education (BOE) ballot structured by statute that is meant to guarantee bipartisan representation. The eight-member board is divided evenly between the two major parties—four Democrats and four Republicans. Every two years, four seats are up for election: two held by Democrats and two by Republicans.
That setup means each party is guaranteed two winning candidates regardless of vote totals. Because the Republican line has exactly two candidates for its two open seats, both are assured election. The only true contest lies on the Democratic side of the ballot, where three candidates are competing for two available seats.
Those three are Laura Kostin, Bob Chaney, and Veronica Chiavaroli. Chaney and Chiavaroli were formally endorsed by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee (DTC). Kostin, an incumbent who has served on the BOE since 2019, was not renominated by party leaders but earned a place on the ballot through petition.
At the DTC nominating meeting in July 2025, members voted to endorse only two candidates. Chiavaroli received 62 votes, Chaney 57, and Kostin 29. Following that decision, Kostin gathered signatures from Democratic voters—surpassing the required 568—to secure her name on the November ballot as an unaffiliated Democratic candidate.
All registered voters in Greenwich, regardless of party, may vote for any candidate on the ballot. With Republicans already guaranteed representation, the real decision before voters is which two Democrats will join the board for the next term.
This year’s BOE election will determine not partisan control—the board is evenly split by design—but temperament and approach. Voters will choose between three Democrats with distinct styles: Chiavaroli, a former educator; Chaney, an RTM member and active PTA parent; and Kostin, an incumbent known for her fiscal scrutiny and advocacy for transparency.
In a year when every other seat is effectively settled, this race will shape how the Board of Education manages budgets, curriculum debates, and communication with families for the next four years.
Laura Kostin, whose straight-forward approach and unwillingness to be a rubber stamp for anyone should be getting everyone’s vote.
Sophia Bell
