The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Lamont softens stance on schools
Bill would create commission to recommend, not mandate, shared services between districts
HARTFORD — Following fierce backlash, Gov. Ned Lamont has softened his stance on consolidating school districts and administration, releasing a new legislative proposal Wednesday that strikes any mention of redistricting.
The revised bill would create a Commission on Shared School Services that “shall develop recommendations,” not a plan. Those recommendations will cover how school districts can find “additional collaborations” by sharing services — like software or transportation contracts — and staff —like superintendents — between them, instead of consolidating entire school districts. But the governor’s revisions do not change a part of the bill that states in 2020 the commissioner of education can withold funding from some school districts that do not share a superintendent with another district. Those districts would be in towns with fewer than 10,000 people, that have one
or two public elementary schools or have fewer than 2,000 students.
The bill still prioritizes projects that are part of school or district consolidation for school construction grant funding from the state. It would still require towns or school districts to submit reports on their shared and consolidated services to the state before 2020.
“The truth is that our students and teachers are not getting the adequate resources they need in the classroom,” Lamont said in a written statement Wednesday. “Sharing certain back-office administrative services and purchasing costs is more efficient for certain schools, and my bill is intended to highlight and incentivize those efficiencies.”
Earlier this month, hundreds of small-town residents voiced their opposition to any state-ordered redistricting at the Capitol. A Facebook group called “Hands Off Our Schools,” created in reaction to the proposal, now has almost 10,000 members.
Rep. Gail Lavielle, RWilton, was dismayed that Lamont’s revisions did not extend to the “punitive measures” of the bill regarding superintendants and school construction grants. She said she and other opponents to sharing property tax revenue outside town lines will remain “vigilant.”
“I thank the governor for being responsive, but I still have concerns,” she said. She wondered why there was a need for legislation using Lamont’s watereddown language on a Commission on Shared School Services at all.
“A bill that would get the obstacles out of the way for voluntary regionalization would be really useful,” she said.
In February, Lamont held a closed-door meeting with dozens of concerned Fairfield County municipal leaders and pledged that his proposal was “a carrot, not a stick” to encourage regionalization.
“I’ve also heard the concern that school districts need independence to make the decisions they feel are best,” Lamont said Wednesday. “My revised proposal seeks to strike that balance through a collaborative process that preserves the feisty independence of our towns while providing them the tools they need to accomplish our shared vision of focusing resources on the classroom.”
Sen. Will Haskell, DWestport, coordinated the governor’s meeting with Fairfield County town leaders and met with Lamont several times about the proposal.
“I’m enormously proud that Gov. Lamont has amended his legislation to reflect the concerns of my district,” he said Wednesday. “The new language protects Wilton’s schools by eliminating language about the number of elementary schools. It also clarifies and underscores that the recommendations of the commission are just that — recommendations. They are non-binding and simply advise small districts about potential opportunities for cost-savings.”
The Connecticut Council on Small Towns also applauded Lamont’s retreat.
“If you do the math and review the studies that have been done, it is clear that top-down, forced consolidation simply does not work,” said Betsy Gara, executive director of COST. “The redrafted proposal focuses on assisting school districts and towns explore options to collaborate and share services in ways that will produce cost savings and enhance the quality of education.”
The Legislature’s Education Committee is now considering the governor’s new proposal, and the Planning and Development Committee is examining similar language.