I believe we've been saying this all along: kiss the new New Lebanon School goodbye

Of course, we could always change the name to "old" LEBANON, change curriculum to a Wahabi one, and ask the A-Rabs to bail us out, for old times' sake. 

Earlier today: State budget debate delays New Lebanon construction

The New Lebanon project is [was - Ed] expected to receive more than $20 million in a grant from the state to help cover the school’s $37 million price tag. The grant has already been approved by three legislative committees.

The last hurdle is the General Assembly, who will vote on New Lebanon funding as part of the Senate bond bill. The bond bill is voted on immediately after the state budget.

New Lebanon School construction was supposed to break ground this month.

“Obviously based on all reports, we’re not going to be able to do that,” said Stephen Walko, chairman of the New Lebanon Building Committee. “In fact, it is looking more likely, if I am understanding various comments from legislators, that a budget will not be passed until the end of June at the earliest.”

“Sadly, but not unexpected, the state has failed to pass a budget affecting our ability to get the students in the school as soon as possible,” said Peter Bernstein, the Greenwich school board’s representative on the New Lebanon Building Committee.

“Budget delays don’t necessarily hurt bonding prospects but do push things back,” said state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-36th. {Editor's note: hahahahaha!]

The New Lebanon Building Committee has planned for months to break ground in June, but cannot sign contracts with construction companies until the General Assembly signs off on the money for the project. Bidding on the project is currently open and will continue until June 21. 

If debates over the budget drags on too long, more pitfalls could be in store. The project will lose valuable months of summer weather for construction if legislators are unable to agree on a budget quickly. In addition, construction bids will expire three months after they are received, so if debates continue into mid-September, Greenwich might have to seek new bids.

In March, Melody Currey, commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services, sent a letter to legislators recommending New Lebanon School be removed from the list of projects in the running for state funding.

“I recommend removing this project from the list and working with Greenwich and the state Department of Education to determine their actual programmatic needs and to determine more cost-effective means to meet those needs,” she wrote. “I would like to take another look at this to see what might possibly be done within the community (to address racial balance) without building a brand new school.”

So that's the set-up - here's the chaser:

Legislature adjourns without a budget.

[Without a budget] , while the bottom line on spending does not change, contractually obligated increases in pension contributions, other retirement benefit costs, debt service and Medicaid alone will cost an extra $950 million next fiscal year.

And on the other side of the ledger, analysts say the current revenue system will produce $800 million less in 2017-18 than the level assumed when the outgoing budget was adopted last spring.

That means the governor faces a fixed bottom line, at least $950 million more in fixed costs and $800 million less in revenue. The combined $1.75 billion squeeze is expected to delay or force cutbacks in payments to community-based social service agencies, aid to municipalities and other various other programs.

Hartford Democrats are adamant that they will not cut state union employees' salaries or benefits further, so that leaves new taxes on Greenwich and a few other wealthy towns, and reduced spending on projects everywhere. I've said all along that this scenario would rule out anything like a $20 million grant to Greenwich, and I stand by that prediction.