Like every state budget I ever had to consider approving, I agree with some parts of the current state budget and disagree with others. In the end, I, and all other legislators, have to decide whether the good parts of the final budget compromise outweigh the bad parts enough to support it. While there was enough good in the current state budget for me to approve it, there is a lot in it that I strongly disagree with.
One of those things was the decision, first proposed by Gov. Rell, to use increased federal education aid to keep the state Educational Cost Share (ECS) grants the same, as opposed to finding other money to maintain state education funding and adding new federal education funding to the state ECS funding. Especially since Gov. Rell proposed tens of millions of dollars in cuts to local aid, just protecting state education funding from cuts was a victory. But, while this is better than a cut, I have not been satisfied with the funding level as it is.
That is why, even after having increased state education aid to New Britain by 27% over the years, this year, I have been advocating both for reforms that would increase support for local schools and for using last year's budget surplus to increase state education funding for distressed municipalities like New Britain.
Since I wanted increased federal aid to increase support for local schools in the first place, I am pleased that the new federal legislation that, among other things, is designed to avert teacher layoffs and keep class sizes as low as possible, has rules that appear to require that this funding be distributed directly to local school districts. Apparently, the federal law allocating this funding gives the Governor the sole power to decide how it is to be distributed. So I call on Gov. Rell not to seek to avoid the intent of this legislation to pass this funding on to the local schools.
All school districts are struggling right now, but New Britain schools are in an especially bad position - mostly because of years in which City Hall has refused to provide much, if any, over the barest possible minimum and has refused to accept increased state support under the state inter-district magnet school program.
All of this, and the New Britain Mayor's decision this year to illegally withhold $1.5 million of the school funding that was allocated by the City Council, leaves the New Britain school district facing a loss of 112 teaching positions that will increase class sizes and harm the quality of education. At this time, more than any, it is important that Gov. Rell not seek to stand in the way of the newly approval federal education aid going to our local schools.
If my calculations are incorrect, I project that this new federal funding, if it is distributed by the ECS formula, would increase New Britain schools' funding by over $4.2 million.
And, these same calculations show that Newington's education funding would increase by over $700,000.
The $4.2 million for New Britain schools, plus the $1.5 million currently being withheld by the Mayor, would seem to be enough to reverse all of the teacher layoffs and nearly eliminate the teacher staffing cuts - keeping class sizes down and maintaining education quality.
That would avert a real crisis in New Britain. So I ask Gov. Rell to pass this new federal funding on to our local schools.
Update August 17th: From what I have been hearing, there is wide agreement that this new federal education funding must me passed on by the state to local schools and not retained in the state budget. Unless I hear otherwise, I do not think that there will be an effort to stand in the way of this. So the question now is what formula the Governor will use to distribute this funding among school districts.
One of those things was the decision, first proposed by Gov. Rell, to use increased federal education aid to keep the state Educational Cost Share (ECS) grants the same, as opposed to finding other money to maintain state education funding and adding new federal education funding to the state ECS funding. Especially since Gov. Rell proposed tens of millions of dollars in cuts to local aid, just protecting state education funding from cuts was a victory. But, while this is better than a cut, I have not been satisfied with the funding level as it is.
That is why, even after having increased state education aid to New Britain by 27% over the years, this year, I have been advocating both for reforms that would increase support for local schools and for using last year's budget surplus to increase state education funding for distressed municipalities like New Britain.
Since I wanted increased federal aid to increase support for local schools in the first place, I am pleased that the new federal legislation that, among other things, is designed to avert teacher layoffs and keep class sizes as low as possible, has rules that appear to require that this funding be distributed directly to local school districts. Apparently, the federal law allocating this funding gives the Governor the sole power to decide how it is to be distributed. So I call on Gov. Rell not to seek to avoid the intent of this legislation to pass this funding on to the local schools.
All school districts are struggling right now, but New Britain schools are in an especially bad position - mostly because of years in which City Hall has refused to provide much, if any, over the barest possible minimum and has refused to accept increased state support under the state inter-district magnet school program.
All of this, and the New Britain Mayor's decision this year to illegally withhold $1.5 million of the school funding that was allocated by the City Council, leaves the New Britain school district facing a loss of 112 teaching positions that will increase class sizes and harm the quality of education. At this time, more than any, it is important that Gov. Rell not seek to stand in the way of the newly approval federal education aid going to our local schools.
If my calculations are incorrect, I project that this new federal funding, if it is distributed by the ECS formula, would increase New Britain schools' funding by over $4.2 million.
And, these same calculations show that Newington's education funding would increase by over $700,000.
The $4.2 million for New Britain schools, plus the $1.5 million currently being withheld by the Mayor, would seem to be enough to reverse all of the teacher layoffs and nearly eliminate the teacher staffing cuts - keeping class sizes down and maintaining education quality.
That would avert a real crisis in New Britain. So I ask Gov. Rell to pass this new federal funding on to our local schools.
Update August 17th: From what I have been hearing, there is wide agreement that this new federal education funding must me passed on by the state to local schools and not retained in the state budget. Unless I hear otherwise, I do not think that there will be an effort to stand in the way of this. So the question now is what formula the Governor will use to distribute this funding among school districts.
