⏩ Free pre-kindergarten part of Democratic mayoral candidate’s school plan.
DANBURY — Free prekindergarten programs and a commission to study the needs of the city’s bulging school system are part of a plan by a Democratic mayoral candidate to bolster public education.
“Danbury has had the lowest per-pupil spending of any other town or city in Connecticut for the past three years,” said Chris Setaro, who is challenging GOP Mayor Mark Boughton in November. “Blue Ribbon schools in the city have everything to do with the dedication of the district’s talented and passionate educators who do their best every day despite not getting the resources they need.”
Setaro released a plan Wednesday promising to “prioritize our education budget” and to lobby Hartford “to make sure Danbury gets its long-overdue fair share of education funding.”
Boughton, who is serving a record ninth two-year term as the city’s top elected leader, said the education budget is $5 million more than the previous year’s, and that increased spending does not automatically translate into improved results.
“We maximize every dollar the best that we can,” Boughton said. “We have seven schools of distinction in Danbury.”
Setaro released his education platform months before the election season traditionally heats up in September and October, but on the same day as a protest by Danbury teachers.
Two dozen teachers dressed in red protested outside Pembroke Elementary School on Wednesday in solidarity with a nationwide call for increased education funding.
Danbury is last in Connecticut in per-pupil spending. The city spends $12,830 per student. The state average is $16,990.
Meanwhile Danbury’s enrollment of 11,500 continues to grow at one of the highest rates in the state, at a time when most districts are dealing with enrollment declines.
Boughton faulted state government in Hartford for denying the city its fair share of Education Cost Sharing aid.
Danbury was among a coalition of cities that sued Connecticut to reimburse the city for millions in promised state aid that never came. A state Supreme Court judge ruled partly in the city’s favor in 2016, but the decision was overturned in appeals court.
Boughton said City Hall was already addressing points of Setaro’s platform, including pre-K programs for at-risk children, and a facility task force on the Board of Education that is making plans to stay ahead of the city’s enrollment surge.
Setaro said the city’s public schools remain overcrowded and underserved.
“Danbury is at a crossroads in many ways,” Setaro said in a prepared statement. “And nowhere is that more apparent than in the school system.”