Kyle Constable, Membership Director

CSCU regents adopt tuition hikes, consolidation framework

by Kyle Constable April 6, 2017 @ 2:03 pmAugust 3, 2022 @ 11:41 am

Updated at 8:13 p.m.
The Board of Regents for Higher Education adopted tuition increases that will eliminate more than half the $35-million budget deficit the state’s largest public college system is facing in the next fiscal year. The board also adopted the framework of a plan to dramatically consolidate the administrative and operational structures of many of the system’s colleges.

Education

CT scraps using state test scores to compute teacher ratings

by Kyle Constable April 6, 2017 @ 12:18 amAugust 1, 2022 @ 1:59 pm

State education board Chairman Allan B. Taylor and Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell both praised the action as an important clarification of the role state tests should play: a goal-setting tool for teachers, not part of a formula for rating an individual teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom. State teacher unions had fought using the state tests as part of teacher evaluations for years.

Education

Tuition hikes blunt CSCU budget gap

by Kyle Constable March 29, 2017 @ 3:45 pmAugust 3, 2022 @ 11:27 am

The president of the state’s largest public college system said tuition increases spread over the next two years are necessary to help close a budget gap of at least $70 million over that time while still giving students the ability to handle and plan for future costs.

Education

Salaries, fringe benefits driving tuition hikes at CT public colleges

by Kyle Constable March 10, 2017 @ 7:56 pmAugust 3, 2022 @ 11:27 am

Top financial officials from Connecticut’s two major public college systems told legislators Friday that rising fringe benefit costs and mandated employee salary increases are key driving forces behind tuition hikes.

Education

Federal monitor: DCF can’t meet requirements under ‘current conditions’

by Kyle Constable February 28, 2017 @ 5:12 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:09 pm

After moving closer to compliance with its court supervision exit plan in the first quarter of 2016, the state Department of Children and Families was unable to make additional progress in the second and third quarters of 2016, a federal court monitor reported Tuesday. The court monitor put much of the blame for DCF’s continued failure to meet certain compliance standards on the state government.

Politics

Blumenthal in New Britain: ‘We are in the fight of our lives’

by Kyle Constable February 26, 2017 @ 6:13 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:08 pm

NEW BRITAIN — If there were any supporters of President Donald J. Trump at the town halls held across Connecticut over the last week, they were drowned out by cheering crowds that urged the state’s congressional delegation to resist the policies of the Republican majority and push an agenda of progressivism in the face of seemingly insurmountable opposition.

Health, Politics

At Berlin forum, residents tell Larson to repair ACA, fight repeal

by Kyle Constable February 18, 2017 @ 4:31 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:06 pm

The forum was part of a national effort by congressional Democrats to hold town hall-style meetings in an attempt to showcase the importance of the Affordable Care Act and demonstrate significant opposition to repealing it.

Education

College leaders warn proposed cuts would have big consequences

by Kyle Constable February 15, 2017 @ 6:02 pmAugust 3, 2022 @ 11:27 am

The president of the state’s largest public college system offered a particularly dismal outlook, warning the cuts could lead his system to declare its equivalent of bankruptcy.

Education

For third straight year, state college system freezes hiring

by Kyle Constable February 14, 2017 @ 7:16 pmAugust 3, 2022 @ 11:27 am

Connecticut State Colleges & Universities President Mark Ojakian is issuing an immediate hiring freeze for the system’s 17 schools and its central office, a spokeswoman said. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget would cut the state’s block grant to the college system by $25 million.

Education

Judge: Legislature’s rejection of DCF deal may lead court to act

by Kyle Constable February 10, 2017 @ 1:15 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:11 pm

Updated at 5:30 p.m.
BRIDGEPORT — After the state legislature rejected a settlement last week that would have brought the Department of Children and Families’ decades-long court oversight closer to an end, the federal judge presiding over the case said he may take matters into his own hands.

Politics

Blumenthal: Stripping federal funds from sanctuary cities would be ‘illegal’

by Kyle Constable January 27, 2017 @ 1:55 pmJuly 11, 2022 @ 1:00 pm

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Friday it would be “illegal” for President Donald J. Trump’s administration to cut off federal funding to sanctuary cities under an executive order issued Wednesday.

Politics

Hartford rally draws 10,000: ‘Complacency is over’

by Kyle Constable January 21, 2017 @ 3:29 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:08 pm

Sharlene Kerelejza was awestruck when she looked out at the crowd gathering Saturday outside the north steps of the State Capitol in Hartford, a throng that Capitol police say reached 10,000. Kerelejza, the chief organizer of the Women’s March in Hartford, who had seen interest in the rally grow on Facebook in recent days, said what she saw meant one thing: “Hope.”

Politics

In Voluntown, anticipation of job growth over next four years

by Kyle Constable January 20, 2017 @ 5:00 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:06 pm

VOLUNTOWN — When President-elect Donald J. Trump stands in front of the U.S. Capitol at noon today to take the oath of office, Diana Kowalsky will be in front of her television. “I took [the day] off for the inauguration,” she said. “We’re going to celebrate.” This is the fifth and final in a series of visits to Connecticut towns leading up to the inauguration.

Politics

In Avon, a feeling of unease lingers as inauguration nears

by Kyle Constable January 19, 2017 @ 4:55 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:06 pm

AVON — For some, the anxiety is driven by the uncertainty surrounding Trump. But for others, it is the circumstances they have endured over the last eight years that drive it – and they hope Trump will bring solutions. Fourth in a series of visits to Connecticut towns leading up to the inauguration.

Politics

In Ansonia, a shift toward Trump as new symbol of hope

by Kyle Constable January 18, 2017 @ 4:55 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:06 pm

ANSONIA — Donald J. Trump’s message of a strong defense and economic growth resonates in the Naugatuck Valley, a region that’s never recovered from the disappearance of brass mills and other heavy industry. This is the third in a series of visits to Connecticut towns leading up to the inauguration.

Trusted Connecticut reporting. Sent directly to you. For free.

Want expert Connecticut political reporting and analysis for free?