Republican budget kinder to Groton
Arecent column by Lisa McGinley, “Bad luck for Groton,” offers a grim, but fair assessment of the impact of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget on the Town of Groton. Concerning this assessment and critique of the governor’s budget, I completely agree. What was not addressed was that there are other budgets out there that actually help Groton — specifically the Senate Republican proposal.
In total, the town would receive an additional $1,091,670 between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018, under that plan.
Our Senate Republican budget rejects the governor’s recommendation that municipalities pick up a portion of teachers’ retirement expenses.
Our proposed budget also recommends a new fully functional Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula that takes into account factors regarding enrollment, poverty and wealth. If fully implemented the state would be spending $678.7 million more on education funding under this proposal. Groton specifically would receive an additional $29,920 in ECS funding in fiscal year 2018, an additional $86,760 in ECS funding in fiscal year 2019, and thereafter $56,840 more annually until fiscal year 2028.
The Senate Republican budget provides a new separate special education grant that reimburses towns for prior year expenditures of special education from a range of 2.5 percent to 52 percent. Unlike excess cost, this grant reimburses municipalities from the first dollar beyond the average per pupil expenditure rather than waiting until the cost for the special needs child reaches 4.5 times the average per pupil expenditure. Under our proposal, Groton is anticipated to receive a 33.4 percent reimbursement for special education.
In addition to the municipal aid, the Senate Republican budget closes the deficit without tax increases, lowers taxes for retirees and helps seniors age in place, enhances funding for state parks and tourism, and provides for structural changes and the streamlining of government. It has multiple policy changes to make the Special Transportation Fund solvent and prevent it from entering deficiency.
Additionally, the Senate Republican plan has been fully vetted, line-by-line, by the Office of Fiscal Analysis.
While I do agree that Malloy’s budget does hurt Groton, there are other options that have been offered — specifically the Senate Republican budget.
In addition to the municipal aid, the Senate Republican budget closes the deficit without tax increases, lowers taxes for retirees and helps seniors age in place, while enhancing funding for state parks and tourism.