The Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding [CCJEF] is paying close attention to three key policy issues before the General Assembly that will dramatically impact state support for K-12 public education. These three issues are (1) education funding in the state budget for the new biennium; (2) a new mandate that towns and cities pay for some of the costs of teacher retirement; and (3) establishing a new task force to study the Education Cost Sharing [ECS] formula. .

Recently, there have been editorials commenting on how Connecticut’s state colleges and universities are being run. Oversight for the 12 community colleges and four universities in the state is provided by the Board of Regents. This is a group of dedicated volunteers who were selected by the governor and leaders of the legislature. While we may not all agree on every detail of how our colleges and universities are managed, the accusations made against the board are both misguided and in my experience, simply not correct.  The existing Board of Regents, along with President Mark Ojakian and his staff, are fully engaged and open minded in terms of finding solutions to the challenges we are facing.

Recently, Washington State Sen. Maureen Walsh received nationwide backlash for saying nurses in smaller hospitals “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day” during their shifts. This comment came during a debate on proposed legislation that would provide nurses uninterrupted meals and breaks at work and protect them from mandatory overtime. She apologized after receiving national outrage, during which she received 1,700 decks of playing cards.