At the center of education funding debates in Connecticut this year is one major funding stream: the Education Cost Sharing grant.
As Connecticut’s primary form of funding for public school districts, just how much money the state puts in it can directly impact the kind of educational experience students across Connecticut are getting, what kind of cuts districts are forced to make this budget season, and how high local property taxes are.
The consensus among superintendents, teachers, students and education advocates is generally no, the ECS grant does not give enough money to schools.
Even though the ECS grant is technically fully funded, the criticism this year is largely centered around the fact that it is still funded in 2013 dollars, lagging behind inflation and districts' rising expenses.
Specifically, the formula’s foundation amount has not been adjusted in more than a decade, and education advocates say it does not reflect the actual cost to educate a student.
If the foundation amount had kept pace with inflation, it would be at nearly $16,000 per student, instead of frozen at $11,525, according to the School + State Finance Project. That would mean many districts across the state would be seeing millions more in funding than they currently get.
Ultimately, districts can be both fully funded according to the ECS formula, and underfunded, said Michael Morton, from the nonprofit School + State Finance Project.
“If your formula is not reflective of actual costs or actual need, you could fully fund it, but you’re not actually fully funding students or schools,” he said.
Local leaders and education advocates have warned that the failure to increase the foundation amount has strained Connecticut school districts and towns, and going another year without a change could lead to further staffing cuts, slashed school programming and higher property taxes.