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 that the school increase should be closer to the town’s overall increase and said the council’s role is to weigh that guidance. “We are trying to move in that direction with this consideration,” he said, describing the proposed $300,000 reduction as an attempt to align the school request with other town departments.

Superintendent Dr. Lutzky told the council that if the $300,000 reduction is adopted he would recommend the Board of Education not fill two positions included in the proposed operating budget: a full-time high school math interventionist and an additional elementary classroom coach. “What I'm intending to do if the council does reduce the $300,000 is to recommend to the board of education that we do not fill those two positions,” he said, adding the district would revisit the roles in the next budget cycle.

Speakers at the hearing stressed the programs’ reach. Polly Metz, a longtime educator and parent, said the two positions would serve nearly 1,500 elementary students and calculated a $300,000 cut would amount to roughly $42 per household based on the town’s estimated 7,116 households; she called that an affordable investment to protect student supports. Multiple students and parent speakers described direct benefits: a pilot math center had been used by high school students for drop-in help and in-class support, and library staff and volunteers outlined programs for neurodivergent children, maker-space activities, teen programming and family events.

Library staff and supporters also spoke in force. Rebecca Fatt, the library’s manager of family and community engagement, described partnerships with nonprofits, an adaptive-programming series and volunteer pathways for teens. Council members said no motions to reduce the library budget had been filed; Council Chair Mike Morrow said, “There are zero proposed budget reductions to the library.” The council signaled the library’s operating request is expected to move forward unchanged.

Council discussion after the hearing ranged from budget methodology and historical spending to potential operational tradeoffs. Several council members urged additional, earlier coordination among the town bodies and the Board of Education to avoid late-stage negotiations. Councilman Toonum and others asked that the board and council staff compare actual expenditures and growth rates over the same baseline before the final vote. Several council members and speakers urged the body to consider the long-term reputation and appeal of the school system if services are cut; Phil Hogan, a resident, said cuts that imperil schools’ quality could damage the town’s standing and property values.

The meeting included two formal votes unrelated to the budget: the council approved the minutes of its March 13, 2025 regular meeting (motion passed unanimously) and later adopted a motion to adjourn (motion passed). The final budget decisions remain pending; the council said it will take the reduction motion affecting the Board of Education increase at its Thursday meeting and the Board of Education will meet Monday to respond to any change.

For now, the immediate, explicit effect of a $300,000 reduction — if adopted — would be to delay or forgo hiring the two positions school leaders included in their operating request. Superintendent Dr. Lutzky and board leaders said they would re-evaluate staffing and program phasing if the council adopts a lower figure.

The council meeting transcript and the Board of Education’s materials show the debate centers on a balance between restraining near-term tax-rate growth and funding programs district leaders and many residents say yield direct instructional benefits. The council’s final vote on the FY2025–26 budget is scheduled for Thursday; the Board of Education will meet Monday to consider implementation steps should a reduction be approved.