Greenwich Board of Education Chair Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony and fellow Republican member Wendy Vizzo Walsh are both resigning effective Aug. 26, leaving two vacancies that registered Republicans have until Aug. 25 to apply for.

Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones announced the departures in a note to families and staff on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and opened the replacement process. The district needs two registered Republicans to serve through the November 2027 municipal election.

Neither Mercanti-Anthony nor Walsh responded to requests for comment by the time of publication. No reason for the resignations has been made public.

"We thank them for all that they have done for Greenwich Public Schools," Jones wrote in her announcement, reported by Patch.

What it means for the board

The eight-member board is evenly split, four Democrats and four Republicans. Once both resignations take effect Aug. 26, the board will operate with four Democrats and two Republicans until replacements are seated.

These are the second and third Republican departures since 2024. Karen Kowalski resigned in July 2024, citing an out-of-town move.

Mercanti-Anthony has served since November 2021. He was elected chair unanimously, 8-0, in November 2025, according to Greenwich Free Press. He also chaired the BOE Policy Committee, sat on the Old Greenwich Building Committee and served as liaison to the Greenwich Education Association.

Walsh joined the board in November 2023 on a four-year term. She served on the Curriculum Committee, the Julian Curtiss Building Committee and as a liaison to Parks and Recreation.

The lawsuit in the background

The resignations come as the BOE remains entangled in litigation with First Selectman Fred Camillo and the Town of Greenwich. The lawsuit, Camillo v. Hirsh and the BOE, was filed in Stamford Superior Court in December 2024 and stems from a disputed October 2024 emergency meeting at which Republican Jen Behette was voted onto the board to fill a vacancy.

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission ruled in October 2025 that the emergency meeting violated open-meeting regulations. The lawsuit has continued despite that ruling.

The full board voted 8-0 on May 28 to authorize settlement negotiations. A settlement offer came before the board at its June 22 meeting, but the vote deadlocked. A trial is scheduled for April 20, 2027.

As of the end of March, the town had spent $192,644 in legal fees on behalf of Camillo from the law department budget, and the BOE had been invoiced $304,002 in its own legal costs, according to RTM Budget Overview Committee chair James Waters.

No statement from Camillo on the resignations was available.

How to apply

Interested residents must be registered Republicans. Applications require a résumé and letter of interest sent to GPS Board Clerk Michael Antonaccio at [email protected] by Aug. 25.

Jones said the remaining board members will vote on replacements as soon as possible after Aug. 26. No specific meeting date has been announced.