NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A group of bipartisan leaders with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities gathered at James Hillhouse High School in New Haven on Thursday to call on the state to invest more in our children.
“This is simple. This is simply putting money where it matters, and prioritizing education once and for all,” said state Rep. Jeff Currey, co-chair of the CT General Assembly's Education Committee.
The group is part of what they’re calling “The 119K Commission”, which conducted a recent study now titled, “The Young People First Report”.
Among many things, the report found 119,000 young people in Connecticut are either at-risk or disconnected from education and the workforce. That adds up to nearly 20% of all people ranging from 14 to 26 years old.
“We all recognize that our young people hold the key to a brighter future for our towns, cities, and the entire state. Yet the harsh reality is we are losing them,” said Madeline Negrón, superintendent of New Haven Public Schools. “This loss affects us all. When they struggle, our communities struggle.”
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The commission came up with a list of nearly two dozen ways to fix the issue. It’s a plan they’re hoping the state will adopt.
“There is so much money coming in through state surpluses at the capitol, and you think about all that money on the table, and we’ve got to tell our kids that we can’t pay for a librarian in their school,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, who is on the commission.
Elicker said he doesn’t want to lay all blame on the state, but one area he and many others say is not working is the formula the state uses, through ECS or Education Cost Sharing. It’s a guideline the state has used since 2013 to figure out how to distribute money to school districts across the state.
The problem is, the commission said it has never been fully funded, it’s not equitable, and it’s outdated.
“The formula reflects the fact that we believe as a state that it costs the same to educate a kid in 2024, as what it did in 2013,” said Joe Delong, executive director and CEO of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. “If we took the ECS formula, adjusted it and made it right and then linked it to inflation so it actually moved each year so we weren’t in real dollars reducing public education spending, that would be something that towns and cities and other boards of eds could build off of.”
The changes to that formula, they said, needs to come with an increase in the weights for low-income students, for multi-lingual learners and an additional weight the formula doesn’t have for special education.
To do it, they would need an additional $500-$550 million.
“In the past five years, our municipal share, we’ve increased over almost 50%. Meanwhile, the state’s increased its funding for New Haven over that same time period by about 5.7%, which is obviously much less than inflation,” Elicker said.
The lack of contribution, commission members described, has caused the responsibility to fall on the municipalities.
“The state hasn’t raised taxes and therefore, it has forced municipalities like ours to raise taxes. So effectively, we’re seeing tax increases all around the state to pay for our local education, because the state has not put in enough resources,” Elicker said.
Commission members also went through a series of what they’re calling myths or false narratives about the state’s investments in education. Several members mentioned the additional $150 million Connecticut legislators dedicated for the education budget last year.
Delong recognized lawmakers for that investment, which many have touted as some of the greatest investments in the state's education over the last few years. However, Delong said that’s not true.
“Since 2017, Connecticut has reduced its proportional share of public education funding to the tune of about $407 million annually,” Delong said.
Delong said that shift moves out of the state budget and into local budgets and property taxes.
Delong also addressed what he said was another myth, which is that CT is a leader in public education funding.
“Thirty-six percent of education budgets come from the state. Most of our surrounding states are anywhere from 41 to 45%. We are in the lowest cortile in the country,” Delong said.
Delong referenced the library the event was hosted in, calling these claims “fiction.”
“What I want to offer today is a simple ask. It’s just an ask for this session to let’s please just have an honest debate,” Delong said. “Because right now, most of the pushback that we receive or that we hear, most of it belongs on one of those bookshelves right there.”
FOX61 reached out to the office of Gov. Ned Lamont for comment. His Communications Director Julia Bergman sent the following statement:
“The governor appreciates the work of the 119k Commission and its efforts to engage many voices and communities across the state to look at an issue we all care deeply about: making sure our youth are connected to educational and career opportunities that will set them up for success throughout their lives. The governor’s priority is investing in what’s working for our youth including historic funding for early childhood and K-12 education, but also investing in their families, which we know is key to ensuring that our young people stay engaged and connected. Many of the report’s recommendations include actions our stage agencies are already undertaking to ensure positive outcomes for our youth, but the governor always welcomes conversations about what we can do better to ensure our investments are making an impact.”
Bergman referenced that during the Lamont administration, ECS funding has grown by $345 million, while overall K-12 enrollment in the state has decreased.
She also went on to say, “Governor Lamont supports the acceleration of the phase-in of the ECS formula. As the administration develops the next biennial budget, we will continue to look for ways to ensure appropriate levels of funding to support our K-12 students.”
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Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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