Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Students, educators and operators urge lawmakers to restore magnet funding and update ECS formula
Summary
Hundreds of students, parents, educators and RESC operators told the Appropriations education subcommittee that Connecticut must raise and index the Education Cost Sharing foundation and restore $12,000,000 in RESC magnet funding to prevent further program cuts and local tax shifts.
Hundreds of parents, students and school leaders urged the Connecticut Appropriations Committee's education subcommittee to restore a $12 million line for RESC-operated magnet schools and to update the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) foundation amount, which speakers said has not been meaningfully increased since 2013.
The testimony opened with representatives of magnet operators and students describing program closures, staff reductions and lost services they say follow years of flat state funding. "I'm here asking you to preserve the $12,000,000 in funding for the fiscal year 2027 budget for our RESC magnet schools," said student Rashida Kulkarni, speaking for CREC families. Leaders of magnet operators said tuition and local contributions cannot substitute for state support because magnet schools serve students from multiple districts and cannot levy property taxes.
Why it matters: Witnesses described a widening gap between the per-pupil cost of educating children in Connecticut (testimony cited a state average near $22,000 per pupil) and the amount RESC magnet schools receive (testimony cited an average roughly $14,800 per pupil). They said that difference forces operators or sending towns to absorb escalating costs for special education, transportation and staffing.
Many speakers also pressed for a higher ECS foundation amount and a mechanism to index it to inflation. Testimony cited the current ECS base of $11,525, unchanged since 2013, and recommended raising the foundation toward figures cited in testimony (speakers proposed numbers in the mid-teens per pupil) and building an annual inflation adjustment. "When funding stays flat while costs increase, our schools lose ground," said Bridgeport parent and council member Kayla Medina.
Supporting details: Superintendents and municipal leaders described rising special-education tuition, transportation and health-insurance costs and warned that unpredictably low state reimbursement forces local cuts or tax increases. Several witnesses asked the committee to fully fund the excess-cost (special education) grant and the seed grant programs created to stabilize districts.
What happened next: Committee members only heard public testimony; there were no votes on budget language at this hearing. Lawmakers were told repeatedly that many requests are not new, and that advocates want appropriation action rather than further study.
The immediate next step: The Appropriations Committee will consider the testimony as it develops its recommendations to the General Assembly; witnesses requested restoration of specific line items and an ECS inflation index as an immediate priority.
