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State Rep. Jamie Foster says coordination, clearer costs and outreach needed after East Windsor school funding request stalls
Summary
State Rep. Jamie Foster told the East Windsor Board of Education the town's bid for higher state reimbursement and a space waiver for school construction was pulled after late changes to the requested reimbursement percentage; she urged clearer municipal-legislative coordination, concrete cost justifications for added square footage and stronger community outreach before reapplying next year.
State Representative Jamie Foster (D-57th) told the East Windsor Board of Education on Tuesday that the district’s request for increased state reimbursement for a school construction project — and a related space waiver for added square footage — stalled late in the legislative process after the percentage requested was increased.
Foster said the project was initially entered at a roughly 79% reimbursement request but that a later shift toward 80% and other post‑submission changes moved the proposal into a riskier position with bond cap constraints and competing requests from other towns. “If I could have left it at 79 it would have failed and been useless,” Foster said, “I really don't believe it would have passed referendum this year.”
The representative told the board she encountered practical limits at the bonding commission and caucus level and that advocates must be able to show two things to secure an unusually high reimbursement: why the additional space is needed and how the town will cover the local share. Foster recommended earlier, cohesive planning between the school side, municipal finance and legislators so that the application and the municipal budget are aligned before judges in Hartford weigh requests.
Foster outlined several specific elements she said will strengthen a future request: a clear justification for any space waiver (including a dollar-and-program plan for how the town would fund the non‑reimbursed portion), demographic and enrollment projections tied to the application, and stronger local turnout and outreach to convince voters at referendum. She also described using alliance-district status and documented facility condition as advocacy tools in Hartford.
Board members and staff said they were surprised that the submitted percentage and some communications were inconsistent across the ad hoc committee, municipal officials and legislative staff. Several members flagged slow responses from their consultant and the need for a single finance point of contact. One board member said roughly $350,000 already has been spent on planning and studies and asked for clearer accounting of available project funds going forward.
Foster offered to attend ad hoc or standing coordination meetings when possible and urged the district to present concrete, municipal-finance‑backed plans to legislators if it intends to reapply. She said campaigning and turnout strategies — booster clubs, PTOs and parent volunteers — are essential to pass a referendum when household budgets are tight.
The board took Foster’s presentation as a debriefing and asked staff to return with a plan for improved coordination, clearer cost estimates and a community engagement strategy ahead of any new submission next year.
