Lawmakers stress importance of open choice schooling
As the academic year inches toward its conclusion, local elected officials are reiterating the importance of the expansion of Connecticut’s Open Choice Program, which allows comparatively underfunded and overcrowded school districts to send students to neighboring districts with more resources.
State Sen. Will Haskell, who represents both New Canaan and Wilton, was one of three senators to introduce a bill proposal earlier this year to “expand educational opportunities for Connecticut students by authorizing the Open Choice Program to place students from the Norwalk and Danbury school districts into neighboring school districts.”
The goals are simple: Promote diversity and inclusion in school communities while lessening the burden of overworked school districts struggling to provide equal resources to every student.
“The sending district typically is suffering from an overcrowding problem, and this is a way to address that problem,” Haskell said before detailing the benefit for the host school’s community. “Students can learn from others who have different lived experiences than them.”
Haskell said promoting inclusion at a younger age is key for understanding. In districts where the program is an option, such as New Haven and Hartford, parents of students as young as kindergarten and first grade are eligible to make the choice to sign up for an opportunity for their child to be taught in another district.
“Cities like Stamford have a real student population growth problem,” said state Rep. Tom O’Dea, who also represents New Canaan and Wilton. “They have problems finding a seat.”
He said if towns with ample resources have the availability, then opting in to this program would bode well for the students coming to the host district, the students attending both the host and sending districts, and the schools themselves.
“New Canaan and Wilton have very good schools and programs. This could provide a choice for students in areas like Norwalk and Stamford to be in a better situation in a great schooling system,” O’Dea said.
The key, both elected officials said, is that this is indeed a choice.
In order for a student or group of students to change districts, all parties must be in agreement. The sending district, the host district and the parents all must consent for the switch to happen.
“Each year, (the host schools) have a choice as to how many seats they would like to fill,” Haskell said. Both school districts’ board of educations and superintendents would have to sign off on this decision.
For each student participating in the Open Choice Program, the host school receives an allotment of money promised by a grant from the state. According to statistics published by the Connecticut School Finance Project, per-pupil grant amounts range from $3,000 to $8,000 and are determined by the percentage of Open Choice Program students within the given host district’s total enrollment.
If New Canaan or Wilton schools were to participate, they would receive a grant of $3,000 for each student in the program, up to 2 percent of its total enrollment. That grant would go up to $4,000 per-pupil from 2 to 3 percent total enrollment, $6,000 per-pupil from 3 to 4 percent, and $8,000 perpupil for any number greater than 4 percent.
In a study done by the CSFP over the fiscal year 2018, 3,065 students participated in the program with an allocated sum of $16.5 million, meaning the perpupil grant average given to host districts in that sample size was $5,400.
At this point, O’Dea said he couldn’t see either New Canaan or Wilton bringing on any more than a few students each, if a region like Norwalk was to be deemed eligible for the program.
O’Dea, who spoke about the Open Choice Program at a virtual town hall last week, said some residents addressed fears of property taxes rising with the taking on of more students.
But Haskell said that they are based in “fear rather than fact.”
“If you are already paying for a teacher, a superintendent, a Board of Education, a SmartBoard, heating, air conditioning, all of that, you are already paying for your district. It would cost nothing to fill an already open seat,” he said. “I feel quite confident saying that so many others wouldn’t be enrolled and involved in the program if it raised their property taxes.”
O’Dea also argues that, while he believes the program to be of high importance, Education Cost Sharing state funds sent to schools each year should favor the host district, who carries the burden of the cost and the responsibility of educating the children coming from the sending district.
Haskell, however, said he thinks an even split is fair, as it would be “counterintuitive to take resources away” from the sending districts.
But both public servants agree this program needs to be expanded for the betterment of students across the state.
“Beyond passing legislation to help our residents’ mental and physical health during this pandemic, and helping our small businesses, this is the most important issue we are facing right now,” O’Dea said. “Supporting school choice for our youth, particularly in our cities, is a top priority.”