State Board backs agency legal view; declines to order funding after hours of public comment on Capital Prep and Danbury charters

The Connecticut State Board of Education voted Oct. 8 to issue a proposed declaratory ruling consistent with the Connecticut State Department of Education nalysis that the legislature, not the board alone, determines which charter applicants receive state operating funds. The vote followed more than two hours of public comment at a North Haven high school session where dozens of students, parents, pastors and charter advocates asked the board to push for funding that would let approved schools open.

Why this matters: The board ecision affirms the agency rgument that an initial certificate of approval from the board is a separate step from the legislative appropriation required to convert an approved applicant into a funded charter school. Petitioners had urged the board to use a declaratory ruling to compel funding or an additional hearing; the board majority adopted the agency nalysis and issued the proposed ruling instead.

Attorney Mark Samaruga, who said he represents Capital Preparatory schools, told the board he and his clients "strenuously object to the draft declaratory ruling," arguing it would improperly rewrite the statutory scheme that governs charter approvals and funding. "Declaratory ruling serves to effectively rewrite state law 10-66bb and 10-66ee," Samaruga said during public comment.

Michael McKee, director of legal and governmental affairs for the Connecticut State Department of Education,…