February 9, 2012

NEW BRITAIN LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION WELCOMES GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED $2.65 MILLION BOOST IN CITY EDUCATION AID

NEW BRITAIN – The Democratic legislative delegation representing the City of New Britain today welcomed Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s proposal to increase state education aid to the city by $2.65 million – the fifth-largest proposed dollar increase of any municipality in Connecticut.

When municipal payments for charter school students are factored into the new aid formula, New Britain has the fourth-largest proposed funding increase in the state, just behind Waterbury, Hartford and Bridgeport.

Gov. Malloy proposed increasing New Britain’s 2012 Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant from $73.93 million to $76.58 million – another $245 per-pupil – as part of his state budget address delivered yesterday on the opening day of the 2012 legislative session.

New Britain legislators said the proposed ECS increase will be put to good use.

“I strongly endorse the governor’s position that every child in Connecticut deserves access to a quality public education, no matter where they live. That has not always been the case in some of Connecticut’s poorer cities and towns,” Sen. Gerratana said. “It is folly to think that money doesn’t play a key role in equalizing some of that achievement gap. So I welcome the governor’s proposed additional ECS funding, and I welcome his concurrent demand that these funds be accounted for as part of an overall educational reform process.”

“The Governor and the New Britain state delegation made a commitment to better fund education, especially in underperforming urban districts like New Britain,” state Rep. Rick Lopes said. “Increasing the education performance in New Britain is the most important thing we can do as legislators. It decreases our local tax burden while improving the abilities and opportunities of our students.”

“This is great news for New Britain’s children. Our city will see almost a four-percent increase in school funding under this proposal and that’s real money,” said state Rep. Peter Tercyak. “Although our schools could use more help, this is an important step in the right direction. I thank Governor Malloy for his strong support for public education.”

“While I am pleased to see the state stepping in and doing its part to support and promote education, we still have a lot of work to do to bring more state resources to New Britain’s education system,” state Rep. Robert Sanchez said. “I am committed to keep working until we find a balance that will help us achieve our educational goals. Municipalities struggle with the budgetary impact of funding education and the influence it has on mill rates imposed on property owners. This proposal eases some of that burden while putting in place beneficial educational reforms that we welcome with open arms.”

“The governor’s commitment to New Britain is impressive,” said state Rep. Betty Boukus. “This is an investment in our students’ futures that will pay dividends.”

Governor Malloy announced his proposed ECS funding changes on Wednesday as part of his broader proposals to reform education in Connecticut from early childhood through college.

He proposed spending an additional $50 million in ECS funding for public schools, nearly $40 million of which will go to newly-established ‘Alliance Districts’ made up of the state’s 30 lowest-performing school districts – conditioned upon the districts’ implementation of key education reform strategies. An additional $4.5 million in competitive funding will be offered to all districts – with a preference for the 30 Alliance districts – to enable even more ambitious innovations and deeper reforms.

A total of 130 towns will receive more ECS funding than they did in 2011-2012; no town will see funding drop from 2011-2012 levels.

“It is critical that we get to the schools that are really struggling—and do it quickly,” Gov. Malloy said Wednesday. “We can get good teachers into classrooms, and hire the best superintendents and administrators, but we must address the overarching resources issue and fund the programs that will directly reach the kids who are at a disadvantage because their school is underperforming. We have held towns harmless, no one is losing ECS funding—which sends a clear signal to our children that we will make the investment and deliver on our promise of high-quality education for every student in Connecticut.”