Federal Relief for Towns: Look to the Schools

Federal money is one of the big unknowns this year. The governor said he would cut state money for towns but expected Washington dollars to more than compensate. However, just about all of that federal money goes to schools. Jessie Levine, Town Administrator in New London, says that’s the problem.

LEVINE: Most of the school and town budgets are entirely separate and the town process has no control over how the school spends its budget.

The governor’s office says, between additional help from the state and Washington, school districts will gain some financial leeway and could share that with the towns. Their advice? School districts and towns will have to work together to help taxpayers. The precise numbers are still up in the air but there’s no doubt that when it comes to the Washington money, the ball is in the school districts’ court.

With this town meeting minute, I’m Jon Greenberg.