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The Board of Education lost again, at last night's Common Council meeting. Norwalk's new operating budget of $281,685,021 still provides no spending increase for the schools. Former school superintendent Bill Papallo, in a parting email, suggested that there was an adversarial relationship between the Mayor and the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the BOE. Maybe so, from the tone of comments made by Democratic members of the Council. Democrat Nora King asked Finance Director Tom Hamilton why he has raised his City budget by 1 percent while holding the BOE's feet to the fire. The answer is: pension obligations, public works and increased spending in his own finance department, but the schools could have used some additional money, too. Dem Carvin Hilliard proposed raising the budget cap by $3 million for the benefit of the schools, but it was just a gesture, bound to lose. It looks as if the schools will have to tough it out.
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