February 8, 2012

REP. SUSAN JOHNSON APPLAUDS MALLOY PROPOSAL
FOR INCREASED SCHOOL FUNDING
Windham Would See 3.2% Increase

State Representative Susan Johnson, who sits on the legislature’s Education Committee, applauded Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s proposal for reforming education in Connecticut from early childhood through college and giving an additional $50 million in Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funding to schools.

Under Malloy’s proposal, Windham would receive an additional $763,857 or 3.16% in ECS funding, increasing Windham’s total education grant to $24,933,574 for 2012-13.

“This is long overdue—I’m delighted that we finally have a governor who truly believes that every child deserves access to the best education possible,” said Rep. Johnson. “Although Windham schools could still use more support, this is an important step in the right direction.”

In his State of the State address Wednesday at the State Capitol, Malloy outlined his vision for Connecticut that maintains recent efforts to stabilize the state’s finances and continues to pursue the job creation policies that have begun to spur economic growth. Malloy also announced the final part of his education reform agenda – an overhaul of the state’s tenure system so that it rewards quality teachers, not just those who have been in the profession the longest.

Malloy’s proposal addresses many areas in need of reform, including: increasing the access to and quality of early childhood education slots; allocating new funding and implementing new approaches that will improve low performing schools; expanding slots for public schools of choice including charter schools; removing red tape and other barriers that stand in the way of local school districts; repositioning our vo-tech schools to promote job readiness and job linkages; and improving teacher preparation so professionals have the skills they need to excel when they enter the classroom.