Gerber Apologizes For His Wording In Statements On Education Funding

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber, facing mounting criticism over recent comments about certain line items in the proposed education budget for 2025-26, apologized Friday for the way he spoke about the matter.

In remarks during a Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday, Gerber appeared to be critical of Fairfield Public School teachers taking online classes to qualify for salary increases.

The line item in question, $1.7 million, is for teachers who complete coursework for professional development, according to Gerber.

"My incorrect understanding and mischaracterization of this budgeted expense originated from a joint meeting on Tuesday, February 25 at 5:00 PM at Town Hall with Fairfield Public Schools (FPS) and Board of Education (BOE) leadership, together with several members of my leadership staff," Gerber wrote in his statement Friday. "At this meeting, The Teaching Channel (a third-party provider) was described as ‘a diploma mill,’ and certain coursework completed as being not being sufficiently relevant to curriculum to warrant a lane change."

In his Wednesday comments, Gerber said he does not appreciate "being ripped off," a phrase that local Republicans jumped on in their criticism of the First Selectman. Information about Gerber's proposed budget for 2025-26 can be found here.

"As a father of children who have attended Fairfield Public Schools and as your First Selectman, I have great respect for the dedication and professionalism demonstrated by our outstanding teaching staff," Gerber wrote. "I regret that my comments may have led to any confusion about my support for Fairfield’s schools, educators and support staff. I believe this misunderstanding emphasizes the critical importance of complete and accurate information provided by each level of government as we work toward fiscal responsibility and educational excellence."

Below is the full text of First Selectman Bill Gerber's statement:

“I offer my sincere apologies to all Fairfield Public School teachers for the way I recently worded my concerns about a $1.7 million line item in the Board of Education (BOE) proposed budget on Wednesday, February 26. The expense I referenced relates to a permanent path to increase salary (sometimes referred to as a ‘lane change’ within collective bargaining agreement schedules) for teachers who complete coursework for professional development. My incorrect understanding and mischaracterization of this budgeted expense originated from a joint meeting on Tuesday, February 25 at 5:00 PM at Town Hall with Fairfield Public Schools (FPS) and Board of Education (BOE) leadership, together with several members of my leadership staff. At this meeting, The Teaching Channel (a third-party provider) was described as ‘a diploma mill,’ and certain coursework completed as being not being sufficiently relevant to curriculum to warrant a lane change.

“After discussion with a number of people closely involved with this program, I learned that the FPS Administration had already notified FPS teachers in an interoffice memo dated January 6, 2025 that “effective January 6, 2025, courses from The Teaching Channel or similar third-party providers will no longer be considered for ‘approved graduate work at accredited colleges or universities’”… and that many teachers had already rejected and are currently challenging this interpretation of this online coursework. Through a subsequent discussion with teachers, I was taken aback to learn for the first time that the courses completed by teachers through these third-party providers had been approved- in advance- by the appropriate members of the FPS Administration. As one teacher told me: ‘next time, check with teachers to ensure you have the full picture.’ This is good advice that I will follow going forward.

“As a father of children who have attended Fairfield Public Schools and as your First Selectman, I have great respect for the dedication and professionalism demonstrated by our outstanding teaching staff. I regret that my comments may have led to any confusion about my support for Fairfield’s schools, educators and support staff. I believe this misunderstanding emphasizes the critical importance of complete and accurate information provided by each level of government as we work toward fiscal responsibility and educational excellence.”