GROTON, Conn. – The Groton Representative Town Meeting (RTM) met Thursday, April 30, to discuss the Groton Public Schools budget for the 2027 fiscal year. 

The Town Council recently reviewed the Board of Education’s (BOE) proposed budget and reduced it by $800,000. This decision then goes to RTM review, where there is the potential to make adjustments to the budget, including restoring it to the BOE’s original budget request. The April 30 meeting was the first in a series of RTM meetings, and a decision has yet to be made regarding the GPS budget. 

“I want to note that the proposed FY27 Groton Public Schools budget was thoughtfully developed over several months and was carefully reviewed to ensure adequate funding to support Groton students and school programs,” wrote GPS Superintendent Susan L. Austin in an announcement shared on the GPS website. 

At this meeting, several members of the Groton community spoke about the budget, including three Fitch High School students Nolan Borysewicz, Jacob Salazar, and Evan Vedder, who advocated for the budget cut to be restored. In their speeches, they outlined the opportunities the restored budget could allow schools such as FHS to offer. Salazar spoke about the close connections and relationships created in the FHS community, Borysewicz mentioned the opportunities he had in sports and theater programs, and Vedder discussed the educational programs offered by FHS. 

“When you talk about cutting school funding, it might sound like numbers and budgets, but for me, it’s personal,” said Salazar. “Fitch High School isn’t just a building. It’s a community.” 

Groton RTM also met on May 6, and will meet next on May 13 and 14 to continue discussing the budget. Live streams of these meetings can be found on the Groton Municipal Television YouTube account. 

Final deliberations on the budget are to be completed by May 25.