Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget proposal, adding $95 million to Education Cost Sharing, underlines the realities that superintendents and boards of education across the state will be forced to deal with; without fundamental reform to the ECS formula, towns like Hamden will be left to absorb the consequences through program and staffing cuts and tax increases to an already over-burdened tax base.
Connecticut’s Education Cost Sharing formula is intended to be the structure of equitable K-12 funding. ECS is the mechanism that ensures towns with differing property wealth and student needs receive fair support from the state. ECS includes several components (Foundation, Need-Based Weights, Base Aid Ratio and Phase-in Schedule) which comprise the overall dollar amount awarded to districts. Detailed information on the components can be found here.
The Foundation serves as the baseline amount. For the last 13 years the Foundation amount has remained at $11,525 per student with no adjustment for inflation. In looking at CPI-U data, inflation estimates are 39% for the same 13-year period, 2013-2026. That represents roughly $4,475 per student in 2026 in Foundation ECS alone.
As the Foundation has been ignored, it has become nothing more than an embedded structural mechanism that systematically undervalues the comprehensive costs associated with delivering education in high-need districts. Meanwhile, districts are contending with soaring expenses in transportation and special education, while diligently managing personnel and day-to-day expenses to meet the bottom-line, if, and I stress if, they are working with a mayor and governing council that understands the nuances of K-12 funding and are willing to go to the taxpayers for a solution. When does some of the burden shift from local governments to a state with a strong fiscal position?
Hamden’s reality illustrates this perfectly. According to School & State Finance Project, Hamden has received $57.4 million less than what full ECS funding should have provided since 2019. Under the current budgeting trajectory, Hamden’s share of ECS continues to be tied to a formula that is drastically outdated.
Hamden’s financial strain isn’t limited to a funding formula that lags behind reality. The town itself is staring down a projected $38 million budget gap for fiscal 2027, brought on by years of structural spending pressures, relatively stagnant revenue growth, and obligations that eat into the pool of funds available for education and other core services. I believe Mayor Adam Sendroff’s November election reflected public confidence in his capacity to implement strategic solutions to Hamden’s budgetary concerns alongside the town’s Legislative Council, but that won’t happen overnight.
Lamont’s budget, as currently drafted, largely continues flat funding of the ECS grant and continues to ignore inflation. While the governor has proposed some targeted increases, those additions don’t correct the structural imbalance in the ECS formula itself. The consequences are painfully clear; programs, staff, and opportunities for students are put at risk and Hamden taxpayers will be faced with the possibility of yet another tax increase or cuts to town services.
The argument isn’t about more spending for the sake of spending, it’s about a fair contract with the municipalities that fulfill the state’s constitutional promise to provide “free public elementary and secondary schools.” When our district has been “shorted” by tens of millions of dollars, it’s not hyperbole to say the promise is hollow for too many Hamden families.
Connecticut’s leaders must recalibrate the foundation amount, index it clearly to inflation, and begin phasing in today’s true educational costs. For towns like Hamden, this critical step must occur in this legislative session. SB7, Educational Equity, is a step in the right direction.
Christopher M. Piscitelli is an Associate Dean of Students, Southern Connecticut State University and Finance Chair of the Hamden Board of Education.