Preschool teachers would get raises in bill that passes state Senate

HARTFORD — Preschool teachers would get sharp increases in pay and more school psychologists, nurses and social workers would be recruited under legislation approved in the Senate on Thursday that would also enhance the recruitment of minority teachers and train more school personnel in using opioid antidotes.

A total of $50 million would be invested in early childhood education, including increases in grants for infant and toddler programs, and preschool students from the current $8,543 to $13,500 per kid, said Sen. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford, co-chairman of the legislative Education Committee. Another $20 million is planned for the following year.

“That’s a $70 million investment,” said McCrory, a school administrator, who noted that trained preschool teachers are making about $25,000 a year at a time when they can make much more in other occupations.

“Over the last two years, we have realized that in the state of Connecticut we have a major, major issue with early childhood education,” he said. “We are losing teachers faster than we can replace them. And one of the reasons why we’re losing these teachers and educators is the fact that we are not paying them well. We want to encourage individuals to stay in this field, but also provide them a livable wage.”

“We were surprised at how low their wages are,” said Sen. Eric Berthel, R-Watertown, a top Republican on the Education Committee who reviewed the bill with McCrory on the Senate floor.

The legislation, which earned the top designation of Senate Bill 1 at the start of the General Assembly session, is a companion piece to another bill that recently passed the Senate and a third that cleared the House on Wednesday aimed at addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of children that have emerged in the COVID pandemic.

In all, about $125 million would be targeted to help kids, increase pay and supplement mental health and behavioral services under the three pending pieces of legislation.

“It is unfortunate that this bill is needed,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven. “But it is.”

He said very young children were in crisis before the pandemic and their troubles have worsened.

“So many young children whose nurturing and preparation for school is inadequate, and the inadequacy is not fully documented until they enroll in kindergarten,” Looney said. “There are some children who have never been read to. This bill is a commitment to take action against that.”

For Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, the expansion of early childhood classes is one of the most-important parts of the legislation. He noted that parents in his city have trouble finding preschool programming.

“There are literally not enough slots, there are frustrated parents, and when kids get to school, those kids don’t have the opportunity that other kids did to make sure that when they get to kindergarten they are ready and prepared to learn,” Duff said. “There’s something wrong with that.”

The added resources for medical and behavioral health in schools is another key portion of the legislation, Duff said. “We need to make sure that they’re not only covering medical health, physical health, but also covering behavioral health as well,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, recalled that at the start of the legislative session in February, Democrats and Republicans agreed that children’s mental health needs was going to be a major focus.

“The fact is our children are 100-percent of Connecticut’s future,” he said. “They need services. We’ve identified that, and bills like this deliver those muchneeded services.”

The 33-2 vote in the Senate sends the bill to the House of Representatives, which has the previous Senate bill on its calendar. The House bill awaits action in the Senate as part of the threeprong strategy to invest some of the unexpectedly robust sales and income taxes, which have created a $4-billion surplus in the budget year that runs through June 30.

Those senators who voted against the bill included Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, and Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich.