HARTFORD, Conn. — Teachers, parents, and students rallied outside of Weaver High School Tuesday evening calling for more funding as Hartford Public Schools face millions of dollars of budget cuts. Those budget cuts could result in more than 380 jobs being eliminated, including classroom positions.
The City of Hartford is starting the upcoming fiscal year in the red, having a $10 million deficit from the prior budget year.
Mayor Arunan Arulampalam says the proposed $600 million city budget is made with the goal of no increases in property taxes for city residents, who already maybe struggling financially.
“We already have staff that feel overworked that feel underappreciated. That we know are underpaid. We do not have competitive salaries in Hartford with the lowest paid district in the region. And, now, we're cutting all these positions, which is only going to make more work for the remaining staff,” said Carol Gayle, president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers.
The mayor and city council heard public comment on the proposed budget where community members urged city leaders to find funding for Hartford Public Schools amid existing staffing shortages. Community members proposed many ideas to the city like using funds from unfilled positions in the police department budget without cutting officers. Another possibility is community members want city leaders to press the state for education as the State of Connecticut is expected to end the fiscal year with a $250 million budget surplus.
One student got emotional while testifying to city leaders.
“I’ve seen the power that teachers and programming can make in a student’s life, however, next year's budget will take many heroes and many programs from our schools and it will be the student who continues to suffer the consequences of adult inaction,” the student said.
Last week, the city announced it would be adding $10.5 million to the proposed education budget, but advocates say that not enough.
“We are still facing $30 million in cuts; our schools are already underfunded, understaffed and under maintained. The last thing our kids need and the last thing our city needs is to be abandoned at this critical time,” said one parent.
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Arulampalam acknowledges the additional funds is a short-term solution. This is a funding solution for the fiscal year (20)25, but we hope to have more announcements coming up in the weeks ahead on a long-term solution for our schools going forward. This is a fight that we will be a lot more active in and, and insert our presence a lot more in because I think we all have to be at the table and coming up with the solution to our school’s strategy that that builds stronger and healthier schools in the future,” said Arulampalam.
The council did not vote on the proposed budget at Tuesday night’s meeting. Hartford city leaders have to pass a budget before May 31, as the new fiscal year starts June 1.
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Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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