Berlin Town Council Angry Over Berlin High Student Parking Fees

BERLIN, CT — A school board decision last June to charge Berlin High School students to park each year at the school is raising eyebrows in town and the ire of the town council.

On June 9, the Berlin Board of Education voted unanimously to implement a $100-per-student fee annually for students to be able to park at BHS. That new rule became effective this school year.

That decision, according to board members Oct. 14 during a follow-up discussion on the topic, was a byproduct of a post-budget vote cut of $50,000 to the 2025-26 budget.

On June 3, the Berlin Town Council unilaterally adopted the Berlin school budget after it was defeated at the polls twice that spring, something allowed in the charter.

According to the Berlin school board, the $100 fee was approved because the board of education's funding was slashed by $50,000 after the first vote.

Berlin school board member Peter Zarabozo said education board members were not happy with having to implement the fee.

But, he said Oct. 14, the funding cut created a shortfall in school spending and, "rather than cut teachers, programs or other resources, the decision was made to cover the gap through parking fees."

The Berlin Town Council, through the town's legal counsel, however, is not only questioning the decision to charge fees, but it is also questioning the legality of it.

On Sept. 2, the Berlin Town Council denounced the school board decision and authorized Berlin Town Manager Ryan Curley to write a letter to the Berlin Board of Education indicating as such.

According to the council's motion, which was unanimously approved 7-0, such a fee doesn't "fund any educational purpose, but would rather be tantamount to an unlawful appropriation."

Berlin Mayor Mark Kaczinski said he has discussed the matter with Berlin school officials, saying the fees are aimed at raising $20,000 of the $50,000 in budget cuts.

But, Kaczinski said, the recently completed fiscal year for 2024-25 shows an approximate $40,000 school board surplus, something that more than makes up for why the school system is implementing BHS parking fees to students.

Kaczynski said the town maintains the school parking lot at no expense to the school board and "putting this fee on the students and their parents seems disingenuous."

Council members from both sides of the political aisle agreed.

Councilor Charles Paonessa said last month that if the school board needed something funded, it could always go back to the town to seek a special appropriation.

The council letter advises the school board not to charge fees to park.

While the council's response to the school board parking fees was in early September, the issue has stewed in municipal circles since.

It culminated last week when Kaczynski posted the letter of the council's opposition on Oct. 21 on his Facebook page.

The letter was also read into the record by Kaczynski at the Oct. 14 school board meeting.

The school board Oct. 14, discussed the issue, but stopped short of taking any action, instead indicating it was referring the matter back to school board counsel.

From there, the board may review the legal findings and, possibly, revisit the matter in the future.

For the minutes of the Oct. 14 Berlin Board of Education meeting, click on this link.

For the minutes of the Sept. 2 Berlin Town Council meeting, click on this link.