A lengthy agenda was awaiting action by the State Board of Education Wednesday. But first came the pleas of two Bridgeport parents beseeching it to do something about the plight of their children’s schools. They were each given three minutes.
K-12
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy offers big compromise to end CT budget gridlock
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has offered a major compromise to end the state budget standoff, scaling back his proposed shift of teacher pension costs to cities and towns by half.
Posted inEducation, Money
Municipal reaction to budget impasse: ‘Crippling,’ ‘devastating,’ ‘punishing’ and ‘unsustainable’
The governor’s budget chief recently asked municipal leaders to give him an update on their community’s fiscal health as pressure mounts at the State Capitol to cut state aid for cities and towns this fiscal year. About half responded, and from the largest city to the littlest town, their comments reflected their displeasure and vexation.
Posted inEducation
Five charter schools line up hoping for state nod
It’s been nearly four years since the State Board of Education last approved a new charter. The board has 90 days to decide whether to approve the application and grant an initial certificate. The General Assembly has the final say.
Posted inEducation, Health
To be a trauma-informed city takes a cultural shift and partnership
New Britain is beginning to shift it’s culture to become a trauma-informed city. In other words, it is working to recognize that 25 percent of children under 17 have suffered some form of trauma in their life, and to help them heal and move on rather than punish them for how they have responded.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy defends his track record on aiding cities and towns
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy tried to defend his efforts to shift more costs onto cities and towns Thursday, releasing a report asserting that municipal aid has grown 21 percent over the last five years.
Posted inEducation, Money
See how your town fares under House Democrats’ proposed budget
House Democrats’ proposed budget takes a more restrained approach than the governor’s to dramatically redistribute state education aid to struggling school districts. Both plans essentially flat-fund overall aid for education.
Posted inEducation, Money
House Democrats offer modest town aid shift in new budget
Majority House Democrats unveiled a new budget Wednesday that matches the town aid proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy while redistributing education funds more modestly from wealthy and middle-income towns and into poorer communities.
Posted inEducation, Money
Poorest districts spared some ed funding cuts, still to be hit hard by others
In the absence of a state budget, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has spared Connecticut’s most impoverished communities from losing their largest education grants, but there are plenty of other lesser grants these towns rely on that will be decimated or scaled back under his executive orders.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Fasano asks AG for opinion on Malloy’s shift in town aid
Senate Republican leader Len Fasano has asked Attorney General George Jepsen to issue an opinion on the legality of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s executive order dramatically realigning municipal aid in the absence of a new state budget.
Posted inEducation, Money
State school aid: How would your town fare under Malloy’s plan?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Friday released a plan to eliminate Education Cost Sharing funding for 85 school districts and reduce funding for another 54 if no state budget is adopted before the first week of October. Grants to the 30 lowest-performing school systems would remain unchanged.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy would reduce, dramatically redistribute school aid in October
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would reduce grants to school districts by 28 percent in October — if no state budget has been adopted — and would dramatically shift funding away from wealthy and middle-income communities and into poorer ones.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Speaker: Mid-September vote is last chance to avert budget disaster for towns
As municipalities brace for a massive hit in state assistance this fall, absent a new budget, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said Wednesday his chamber may vote on a fiscal plan next month — even if it acts alone.
Posted inEducation
Feds give nod to CT’s plan for education accountability
The approval comes one month after reviewers at the federal agency wrote a blistering evaluation of the state’s initial plan. The state education department quickly made changes to address the feds’ concerns — but stood its ground and prevailed on a key measure for grading schools.
Posted inEducation
Three questions CT schools face amid budget uncertainty
Educators have been making cuts and putting off hiring as the school year approaches. Now they are wondering how deep the cuts eventually will be, how they will impact their schools and whether they have any alternatives to them.