Some Connecticut towns are seeing millions of dollars more in education funding over the next two years, while others are seeing little to no change at all under the new state budget.
Lawmakers recently approved a two-year, $55.8 billion budget plan, which includes approximately $2.4 billion in education grant funding this fiscal year, and around the same the year after.
The Education Cost Sharing grant — Connecticut's primary form of state funding for K-12 education — allocates dollars to municipalities based on a formula designed to provide equal educational opportunity, targeting poorer districts by adjusting funds based on student need and community wealth.
The new budget marks the first time that the ECS grant is fully funded, following a legislative session marked by numerous rallies by education advocates, teachers, parents and students who continuously pressed lawmakers to increase funding for districts. Still, advocates caution that the amount of state funding still isn't enough to quell concerns about strained district budgets, rising costs and uncertainty at the federal level.
Here's how much each Connecticut municipality is set to receive in Education Cost Sharing grant funding in the two-year budget cycle, according to a new report by the non-profit School + State Finance Project.