Public schools need funding, and they need it now
It was only four short years ago that Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher read his threehour, scathing ruling in the historic CCJEF v. Rell case. Moukawsher scolded the state for its inability to properly fund our schools, especially our most vulnerable districts.
Since then, our funding formula has gone unchanged, and our students are still suffering, especially in the midst of a global pandemic. A 2020 survey released by Educators for Excellence found that more than half of Connecticut teachers say inequitable access to classroom supplies and resources is a problem in their districts. As students and teachers face extraordinary challenges just to continue teaching and learning amidst the pandemic, the least we can do is ensure they are getting the financial aid they deserve to make this school year successful.
A recent report by the New England Public Policy
Center highlighted what Judge Moukawsher meant when he compared our school funding formula to “cotton candy in a rainstorm” — it disintegrates before it even has a chance to form. As an educator for five years, I have seen how a lack of proper funding hurts our students — specifically, a lack of equitable distribution of Chromebooks. I have worked in schools that had a ratio of three children to one Chromebook in comparison to schools with a 1-to-1 ratio.
In order for this to change, we have to ensure that our students are
getting the monetary support needed to reach the heights we all know they can achieve. According to the report, an additional $940 million would be needed to fully fund predicted costs to achieve the state’s average student test performance level. My guess is that money in our state is a little tight. While we all are aware that entities are strapped for funding, the saying “you get what you pay for” should not be lost on us. You cannot expect teachers to do their jobs in the middle of a pandemic without the proper resources such as enough PPE and functioning laptops to teach in-person and on-line.
As teachers, we are constantly asked to do more with less, and now, despite facing unprecedented challenges, we are being forced to do so. Despite the dire state our education system faces, some districts are still funded far more generously than others. Currently, over 50 percent of students attend public schools where spending was inadequate in order to reach the goal of over 80 percent of students reaching or achieving the state’s proficiency level. The report also suggests the state consider adopting the cost measure — or how much each district spends — as the basis of a new equitable and adequate formula that allocates more state aid to districts with higher costs. Our state officials should be basing funding decisions on research that proves how much it costs to effectively educate students in each district, not based on an arbitrary number or their best guess.
While we all are in a place of uncertainty, now is not the time to leave teachers — the people on the ground every day — out of the conversation. We deserve to know how our state officials determine how and why each district receives a specific amount of funding, along with the opportunity to provide feedback. We cannot afford to keep funding our public schools blind. Our students and teachers deserve better. As we near the start of a new legislative session, our elected officials must consider the New England Public Policy Center’s report and equitably and adequately fund our public schools.