A ‘shot in the arm’ for urban districts
City to get ‘significant resources’ under CT education grant bill
A proposed bill would invest $445 million more in K-12 education next fiscal year by restructuring the state’s education grant, with the most money going toward the neediest districts.
Stamford schools would receive $6.84 million more from the state than proposed in the governor’s flat budget.
City officials have argued for years that the city’s education system is underfunded by the state.
Ryan Fealey, finance director for Stamford Public Schools, said the increase to the education cost sharing formula, or ECS, would be welcome.
“If the ECS grant were to be fully funded rather than phased in, it would deliver significant resources to Stamford Public School students at a time when those resources are greatly needed,” he said, in an emailed statement.
Under the current formula, Stamford received about $13.5 million through the state’s cost sharing for this fiscal year, an increase of about $1.2 million from the previous year.
The state legislature’s education committee is reviewing the bill, proposed by several representatives and backed by the School and State Finance Project, a nonpartisan policy organization.
The plan would help address the “significant racial funding gap” in
“Supporting Stamford schools, teachers and students with more resources is essential, especially as we look to recover from COVID-19.” State Rep. Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford
the state’s education budget, said Michael Morton, spokesman for the organization.
“It, unfortunately, does not close the gap entirely because it is so large, but it does decrease that gap substantially,” he said.
This chasm between what majority white districts receive compared to others would decrease 68 percent, from $639 million, he said.
State Rep. Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford, argued more funding for education is especially critical due to the challenges local schools face due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Supporting Stamford schools, teachers and students with more resources is essential, especially as we look to recover from COVID-19 and make up for lost time in the classroom,” said Caroline Simmons, a mayoral hopeful. “I’ve worked with the Stamford delegation to secure more funding for our schools and will continue to fight for more ECS funding so that Stamford gets its fair share.”
Mayor David Martin was reached for comment through a spokesperson from the mayor’s office but did not respond.
State. Sen Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, said she supports most of the bill.
“Now is the time to truly invest in education,” said Kushner, who sits on the education committee. “Our students need it now more than ever.”
Hartford would see the biggest bump, with $34.6 million more next fiscal year.
Bridgeport and East Hartford would each receive around $16.7 million more, New Haven would get almost $15 million more, while Norwalk would get another $4.4 million. Greenwich would get $616,000 more.
The bill would “fully fund” districts, rather than follow the 10-year phase-in schedule that had been set when the formula for the ECS grant was revamped in 2017, Morton said.
Wealthier communities whose funding was being phased down would stick to the previous schedule, he said.
Wealthier towns like Ridgefield would get just over $6,000 more, while Wilton would get $1,771.
The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these disparities and made it even more necessary for state aid to be increased, Morton said.
“This is funding that Connecticut students need and they can’t wait,” he said.
Districts receive state money based on the number of students they have and their needs, but schools get a certain percentage more for each student with greater needs.
Under the new plan, districts would get 25 percent more funding for each of their English learners, compared to 15 percent currently. For students living in poverty, this would jump from 5 percent to 15 percent.
In Stamford, roughly 15 percent of students are English learners, while roughly 58 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch. The district spends about $17,000 per pupil.
The bill would also count and fund students in charter, magnet, vocational and open-choice schools within the formula.
“It creates one formula that is transparent and is funding all students based on their needs,” Morton said.
But charter schools make up only 8 percent of the funding outlined in the bill, he noted.
The proposal includes $331 million for local and regional school districts, $83 million for interdistrict magnet schools and $31 million for charter schools, he said. The funding for charter schools would not come out of money that would otherwise go to local public schools.
The state would need to explore new revenue sources to afford the proposal, Kushner said, which could mean raising taxes on the wealthy.
“Obviously, it’s a big chunk of change,” Kushner said. “It really depends on how we view raising revenue in the state and if we look at new revenue sources.”