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Mayors, educators and parents press Appropriations panel to boost K‑12 funding and update ECS formula
Summary
Mayors, superintendents, school staff and parents urged the Appropriations Committee to increase K‑12 funding and to implement recommendations to update the education cost‑sharing (ECS) formula so that high‑needs districts receive extra weight and funding.
Lawmakers heard hours of testimony from mayors, superintendents, teachers and parents who said the state must provide more money and a fairer formula to fund K‑12 schools.
Speakers representing Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Danbury and smaller towns described teacher shortages, rising special‑education costs and what several witnesses called an ‘‘underfunded’’ system that shifts the burden to local property taxpayers.
Witnesses repeated the 119‑commission recommendation—advocated by several mayors at the hearing—that the state raise the foundation amount and add or increase weights for high‑needs students (multilingual learners, students in poverty and those with disabilities). Several speakers asked the committee to support a near‑term infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars the commission recommended to begin closing gaps.
School leaders described concrete shortfalls: staffing gaps that leave schools short hundreds of counselors or special‑education staff, transportation constraints and programs cut after federal pandemic grants expired. Superintendents and union leaders said districts have been forced to eliminate positions and that some cuts were already implemented this year.
Smaller towns and rural districts also asked the committee to account for tax base differences. Several witnesses from small towns said the ECS formula produces steep swings for places with limited commercial tax capacity, and they urged targeted hold‑harmless provisions.
A range of civic and education groups urged the committee to use the current budget surplus and reserves to move more money to schools now rather than defer increases. Testimony also included calls for more state support to prevent passing structural costs onto local property taxpayers.
Witnesses from university and nonprofit groups also recommended funding investments for career academies, dual‑credit expansion and teacher‑residency programs designed to recruit and retain a diverse teacher workforce.
The committee did not vote during the hearing. Members heard the public record and asked clarifying questions of witnesses. The committee will consider the public hearing testimony alongside the governor’s proposed budget as it prepares recommendations for the full Appropriations Committee and the legislature.
