The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Torrington City Council votes to join suit over school aid levels
TORRINGTON — Torrington officials, facing a potentially dire financial crunch, will try to pry the city’s prior level of education funding from the state through legal action.
The City Council voted this week to join a group lawsuit being planned by the Connecticut Education Association, a Hartfordbased group representing retired teachers.
The suit will seek an injunction against the executive order issued by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in August, according to Executive Director Donald E. Williams Jr.
Under that financial plan, Torrington would see a $22.6 million drop in state funding, largely through a decrease of approximately $20 million in its Education Cost Sharing grant allocation.
Williams said the group would argue the governor does not have the power to diminish ECS funding beyond last year’s levels when the state is operating without a budget, as it was an expenditure set specifically by the legislature and cutting it would violate the law.
“Given the destruction that could occur, will occur, as these cuts roll out ... with that destruction looming, we have to use every resource that we possibly can to protect the schoolchildren and the public schools of the state of Connecticut,” Williams said.
The legal action will not require an expenditure from the city, Williams said.
Mayor Elinor Carbone said the city cannot handle such a loss of state funding.
“There is no way possible for us to find $20 million dollars of expenses to cut from our budget, and there is no possible way our taxpayers can afford an increase in their taxes to cover the loss in revenue,” said Carbone.
The city received its first ECS payment from the state government Monday, Carbone said. It totaled $1.2 million, down from the customary level of $6 million to $7 million.
“When Mr. Williams called and we talked about the possibility of taking this action, I felt that it was critical for us to bring this to you for discussion, for debate, for deliberation, because we cannot roll over and accept these kinds of cuts as a distressed municipality, as a municipality whose school budget has always suffered,” Carbone said.
“The time is now for us to take action, if the Council is so inclined to do so.”
City Council members applauded the potential suit Monday, as they voted to join the pending measure as a plaintiff.
Council member Paul Cavagnero said the potential cut would violate the social contract around public education.
“Now, because of the ineptness of our leaders in Hartford, they decide that they are going to withhold the money that they promised us as part of that contract — to me, it’s default of contract, it is bullying, and I completely support this proposal,” said Cavagnero.
“If you withhold this money, then as far as I’m concerned, your regulations and your statutes are void, and that puts us into a whole other discussion about how we in Torrington manage our education system for our kids.”
“I thought by the time we got around to the school year being in, that we would finally see some action and hopefully a budget, and we can move forward.
“A lot of my support of this is going to be because I don’t see an end in sight, and I don’t know how we’re going to see a budget that’s ultimately signed by the governor, that’s passed by the House and the Senate, anytime soon,” said council member Gregg Cogswell.
Board of Education member Ken Traub voiced his support for the idea.
The lawsuit has not yet been filed. Williams said it could be put forward with 10 to 14 days.
Torrington is the first community to be approached publicly about the idea, but the town of Brooklyn has also voted to join the injunction, according to Williams. Students and teachers may join the suit as well, he said.