Tutoring coalition urges New Haven to keep $1.5 million for after‑school tutoring

Hundreds of residents and program partners urged the New Haven Board of Governors’ finance committee on March 20 to retain $1.5 million in the mayor’s proposed 2025–26 budget for the New Haven Tutoring Initiative (NHTI).

Speakers said the NHTI uses professional staff and volunteers to provide math and reading tutoring to students across the city and that the program currently serves roughly 2,000 students. Kirsten Levinson, representing New Haven Reads and NHTI partners, told the committee the program grew on $3 million in ARPA funding approved in 2023 and that those funds will expire in August 2025. “This funding is an investment in all of our students, families, and the future of New Haven,” Levinson said.

Why it matters: Parents and community groups said continued city funding would sustain tutoring at 24 after‑school sites and prevent loss of services when federal ARPA money sunsets. Several parents and program leaders told personal stories about students who reached grade level or regained confidence after receiving tutoring. Karen London, a parent whose child receives NHTI tutoring at Pine Rock Academy, said the program “has been instrumental in building her confidence” and helping her daughter read at grade level.

Committee members heard that NHTI combines paid staff for training and coordination with volunteers in the classroom. Stephanie Rotten, executive director of New Haven Youth Tennis and Education (New Heights), described the staff role: paid personnel provide curriculum, training and assessment so volunteer tutors can be effective. Rotten said the budget request covers staffing and materials needed to scale volunteer efforts citywide.

Details and budget context: Levinson and others emphasized that the tutoring effort grew through a $3 million ARPA allocation in 2023 and asked the committee to replace that expiring support with recurring general‑fund dollars. Speakers repeated the $1.5 million figure included in the mayor’s draft budget and urged the committee to preserve it. No formal action on that line item was taken at the March 20 workshop; department budget hearings continue and the committee will consider adjustments before a final vote.

What’s next: The finance committee closed the public testimony portion of the March 20 meeting and continued departmental workshops. Residents will have additional opportunities to testify at scheduled hearings on April 9 and April 30, and the committee will consider the mayor’s final budget before forwarding recommendations to the full board of governors.