CTECS officials tell appropriators students lag state benchmarks as special‑education and facilities costs rise

Dr. Alice Pritchard, interim executive director of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS), told the Appropriations subcommittee that CTECS students underperformed statewide averages on several traditional academic metrics and that budget pressure is mounting from special‑education costs, contracted services and deferred facilities work.

Pritchard said district‑level results for 2023–24 on the Next Generation Science Standards show about 36% of CTECS students “met or exceeded expectations,” compared with 47% for the state. She also cited a 2024 benchmark in which 67% of CTECS students did not meet SAT benchmarks, compared with 43% statewide.

Committee members and CTECS staff emphasized that the technical schools operate differently from district high schools — students spend roughly 90 days per year in trade instruction — and that the system measures success in credentials and trade certifications in addition to traditional metrics. Pritchard noted that 95% of tenth‑through‑twelfth graders earn a certification in their trade area, which CTECS views as a programmatic success even as academic metrics lag.

Special education and contracting: CTECS provided budget figures tied to special education services. Staff said personal‑services salaries for dedicated special‑education teachers total about $12,000,000 and cover roughly 34 teachers. CTECS also reported contracted services with external providers (notably CREC) that are expected to total about $5.7 million for the year; staff said CREC’s current contracted work is about $2 million now and could reach $5–6 million by year‑end. CTECS said its special‑education population rose from just under 1,000 in 2017 to just under 2,000 currently.

Staffing and headcount: CTECS told the committee its actual headcount is 1,609 while the authorized headcount in prior documents was 1,539; the governor’s budget increased resources to support 1,569 positions. CTECS said resources have been adjusted to match the operational headcount even where authorization and payroll counts differ.

Facilities and deferred maintenance: Pritchard walked members through a five‑year renovation schedule that lists original construction dates, prior renovations and outstanding needs. CTECS noted several aging buildings and said the governor’s budget includes funds to start a replacement for Windham (Wyndham) Tech and later work for other older sites. Committee members asked for cost estimates to upgrade HVAC systems and for more detailed notes where the renovation schedule lacked specific comments.

Adult programs and workforce connections: CTECS reported 1,436 adult students enrolled statewide (previously reported as 3,000 courses), taking roughly 3,500 course enrollments in total. Staff said many adult programs connect to apprenticeships and workforce certifications; committee members discussed whether elements could align with state financial aid or debt‑free certification efforts. Pritchard said the agency would prepare a planning report, and committee members suggested a target of a January 1 deadline for a more detailed expansion plan.

Requests and next steps: legislators asked CTECS for additional disaggregated data (for example, comparing sending district performance to CTECS results, multilingual learner and special education origin districts, and school‑level testing universe sizes). CTECS staff also said they are exploring hiring paraprofessionals into state payroll structures (a novel personnel category for a state agency) to provide consistent special‑education support rather than relying solely on contracted staff.

Pritchard and members emphasized a need to align resources with principal‑level instructional needs, saying more targeted investments could yield better academic outcomes alongside trade certifications.