Op Ed: Guilford, vote “no” for fiscal sanity

Dear Concerned Guilford Voters,

Taxpayers in Guilford are being asked to approve a proposed 2026-2027 budget of $129,413,203 on April 21^st at the Town Budget Referendum. This proposed budget represents an increase of $6.86 million, or 5.3%, over the current Guilford 2025-2026 budget.

About 65% of this proposed budget, consists of the education portion. This includes a 5.84% increase in the Guilford Board of Education operating budget. For the past four years, the Guilford Board of Education annual operating budget increases have been 5.3%, 6.1%, 5.9%, and now 5.84%, respectively.

To illustrate the unsustainability of continuous annual town budget increases at an annual rate of 5.3% per year, everyone’s taxes in Guilford would double every 13.58 years.

So why are our Guilford property taxes so high? Analyzing educational expenditures in Guilford exposes a system that is out-of-control and the result of bad decision-making, poor planning, a lack of research, and a failure reevaluate failed learning strategies. Consider:

• Union negotiated teacher and staff salaries and benefits now comprise over 78% of the BOE budget. In Guilford, the average annual teacher’s salary (not including benefits) is $93,680.
• Guilford Superintendent Paul Freeman’s annual compensation is $325,608 ($277,468 salary, $26,073 tax sheltered annuity, $3,767 reduction in vacation time from 25 to 22 days, $8,500 leadership stipend, $8,000 car allowance, and $18,000 Teachers Retirement Board contribution).
• Four Central Office certified employees who make an average salary of $234,500 each.
• 18 School Administrators (Principals, Assistant Principals, Director of Pupil Services, Special Education Coordinators and Athletic Director) with a median $185,474 salary.
• Guilford High School alone has a Principal, three Assistant Principals, an Athletic Director, and a Coordinator of Special Education, each making a median $192,240 salary. Why exactly do we need three Assistant Principals at the High School?

Historically low student-teacher ratio and class sizes with little or no increased benefit.

The average student-teacher ratio in Guilford in 2026 is 11.6 to one. The national average is 15.4 to one. According to the Education Endowment Foundation, lowering the student-teacher ratio below 15 to 1 results in diminishing gains that are “modest” and “hard to detect”. Class sizes with a 15.4 to 1 student-teacher ratio could potentially save Guilford taxpayers $8 million annually.

Chromebooks, a staple in Guilford schools since 2013, cost an estimated $1.5 million annually from the accompanying software, licenses, repairs and IT staff.

About 24% (724) of students are not proficient in reading and 34% (1,026) students are not proficient in math, according to state SBAC tests. In over 160 studies, a 1:1 Chromebook program has an effect of only 12% as opposed to a direct instruction effect by teachers of 56%. Even forming friendships grows more difficult with tech.

Phonics was not embraced soon after the National Reading Panel declared it to be the superior reading methodology in 2000.

Instead, Guilford schools implemented phonics only when it was mandated by the CT General Assembly in 2021. For 21 years, thousands of Guilford students graduated well below reading and math proficiency. More effective interventions like “Core Knowledge” could raise student proficiencies dramatically in K-6, and beyond, for a fraction of Chromebook spending.

It’s not the amount of money spent that improves learning—it’s how the money is directed. Nothing will change until we demand fiscal discipline and better results in our Guilford education system. We must send a message.

Please vote no on Tuesday April 21^st at the Town Budget Referendum, and please share this message.

Guilford Republican Town Committee