New Canaan council braces for $300,000 school budget reduction after weeks of public appeals to spare library and classrooms

NEW CANAAN, Conn. — The New Canaan Town Council spent its April 1 meeting hearing several dozen residents and students urge the council to approve the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget for the Board of Education and the New Canaan Library without further reductions. Council members said no budget reduction motions were pending for the library, but they confirmed an additional $300,000 reduction to the board of education’s requested increase will be considered at the council’s Thursday vote.

The public hearing drew teachers, parents, students and library staff who described how the proposed school and library programs serve children, families and people with special needs. Rhona Van Bridal, president of the New Canaan Teachers Union, told the council the district’s budget “reflects a commitment” to student success and asked the council to “support it without reductions.” Josh Kaye, a parent at 927 Silvermine Road, said the proposed elementary classroom coach would shorten instructional transition times and yield “hours of additional instructional time” for students.

The council’s concern, voiced most fully by Councilman Eric Toonum, centered on long-term growth in town spending and past years’ budget return-to-town amounts. Toonum summarized board of finance guidance…