In Connecticut, decades ago when Cities and Towns were &quot;going broke&quot; like Bridgeport and Waterbury the State Legislators stepped in and separated the City-Town Operating Budgets from the local Board of Education Budgets.  The reason being that Mayor&#039;s and First Selectman were closing schools left and right during and after school years in order to control taxes and operating budget shortfalls.  Board of Education budgets were never sacrosanct or privileged, and in fact many Mayors and First Selectman used to openly deal and meet with Board of Ed members and decided  budget issues for many years.