More than 50 Connecticut cities and towns have called for Gov. Ned Lamont and the state General Assembly to increase education funding.
The release was signed by 52 mayors, first selectpersons and town managers, who expressed their concerns in a letter to the governor. The bipartisan op-ed was published Friday through Hearst Connecticut Media Group publications.
The group raised concerns about at-risk and disconnected youth and low test scores. They want investments in early childhood education and K-12 learners. Local leaders requested that the state support students and educators by providing them with the resources and support services they need.
“At a time when there is a lot of division across the country, one thing we can all agree on in Connecticut is there is no more important priority to parents and to the future of our state than ensuring our children receive a high-quality education that puts them on a pathway for success in college, career, and life,” they wrote.
The group expressed a need for funding to address teacher shortages and for more services, such as mental health professionals and resources, for the highest-need students. This includes students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Local leaders expressed concern over the rising costs of educating a child. The editorial stated that despite the rising costs, the base level per student contribution distributed through the state’s Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula has remained at $11,525 per student for more than a decade. They expressed frustration and said the state relied too heavily on property taxpayers and municipalities for education cost-sharing.
“We’ve been doing our part and increasing our local contributions to our schools year after year, and now we need the state to do its part and increase its contribution to our schools,” they said.
Some recommendations come from the bipartisan 119K Commission’s Young People First report, which was released in November. It addresses the funding gaps and offers recommendations. The recommendations include increasing the state’s annual foundation by a thousand dollars per student. They said the funding will be an investment towards young people today and for the future workforce.
They estimate $545 million is needed to help the state’s 160-plus school districts. They suggested that the state invests in Connecticut’s youth by reviewing the most recent “$400 million surplus in its FY 23-24 general fund and an overall budget reserve fund of $4.1 billion.”
“We urge Governor Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly – whom we know care about our youth just as much as we do – to join us and make a lasting investment in our young people and in our future workforce that will keep our state and local economy growing and moving forward,” they said.
Rob Blanchard, Governor Lamont's Communications Director issued this statement:
“Hearing local leaders, the Governor just authorized $40 million more in emergency special education funding for municipalities in this fiscal year, on top of $54 million more in his next biennium—more than double the previous budget. From proposing a Universal Preschool Endowment to give children the best start in life to increasing education cost-sharing grants by hundreds of millions of dollars and investing over $300 million in programs that align with the recommendations in CCM’s Young People First Report, no governor has been a bigger champion for our children than Governor Lamont.”
