Board approves 7:45 a.m. Greenwich High School start, adds morning "wind" block as part of FY26 reductions

The Greenwich Board of Education voted to move the Greenwich High School first bell to 7:45 a.m., with the first academic bell at 8:00 a.m., and to apply further targeted budget reductions to help close the FY26 operating shortfall.

Board member Colvin introduced the motion, framing the plan as a compromise that would achieve roughly $1.9–$2.0 million in transportation savings while restoring a morning period for student supports. Colvin described a 15-minute morning period—described during discussion as a “wind block”—for students to meet teachers, guidance counselors or club advisors before academic classes begin at 8:00 a.m.

The proposal prompted extensive public comment. Some students and community members supported an earlier bell on fiscal grounds. Nicholas Sosa, a student speaker, said moving to a 7:30 a.m. start would save “approximately $2,500,000 through transportation efficiencies” and framed an earlier start as preferable to cutting teaching staff. Other speakers, including parents, teachers and pediatric sleep experts, urged the board to keep the current 8:30 a.m. start time for health and safety reasons. Pediatric sleep physician Dr. Craig Canopyre of Yale recommended maintaining later start times, citing research on adolescent circadian rhythms and risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation.

After discussion, the board adopted the start-time motion on a vote of 6–0–1 (six yes, zero no, one abstention). Directors then voted to authorize the superintendent to identify an additional $551,469 in reductions at her discretion—so long as no further full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions would be cut—to complete the district’s needed reductions. That motion passed on a subsequent vote.

Superintendent Dr. Jones and district staff said they would work with principals, transportation and public‑safety partners to implement schedule changes and to design the morning “wind” block so students could continue to access counseling, academic help and extracurricular meeting time. The board and administrators emphasized that logistics—including bus routing and school dismissal times—would be finalized by staff before the change takes effect.

Board members said they viewed the 7:45/8:00 compromise as a way to protect classroom positions while providing a limited morning period for support and activities, even as they recognized competing medical and safety evidence presented by speakers. The board’s action aims to close the FY26 budget gap while preserving classroom FTEs and some extracurricular access.