The Connecticut Education Association was one of several teachers’ unions—along with the American Federation of Teachers—pushing back against expectations that the Trump administration would downsize or dismantle the Department of Education, which supports state educational funding.
CEA President Kate Dias called education “the cornerstone of growth.”
“It is the investment we make not just today but in the future,” she said. “In the future of our workforce, the future of our economy, the future of our students, and every time we walk away from the responsibility of funding, supporting, and making sure our students have everything they need, we walk away from the promise of Connecticut’s future.”
Dias said millionaires are getting tax breaks on the backs of children.
“They are looking to cut 330 billion from the federal budget so that they can make 4 trillion dollars in tax cuts, and we’re here today, standing united, legislators, educators, family members, boards of ed, everyone standing together recognizing that cuts like that are unacceptable,” Dias said.
Joslyn DeLancey, CEA vice president, said that Connecticut’s most vulnerable children are in danger if these grants are cut.
“It is not efficient nor effective to make cuts to public education,” DeLancey said. “It is a degradation of all of our services, no matter what town you’re in, city, state. When we cut funds to public education, we cut care for our children.”
The CEA said their legislative priorities this year include increasing special education funding, ensuring competitive salaries for teachers, and addressing the teacher shortage crisis.
The American Federation of Teachers also led a rally and march in New Haven.
