Hundreds of educators, legislators, students, child care workers and various community organizations packed into a room at the State Capitol on Thursday, decrying the governor’s plan to shift millions of dollars away from the education budget for child care programs.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s recent budget proposal removes $64.5 million from a $150 million funding block that the legislature set aside last year to help school districts manage the upcoming loss of federal coronavirus relief money. The funds would have been used to help districts pay for tuition for magnet schools and vocational agriculture schools, and to support the Open Choice program.
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According to an analysis from the School and State Finance Project, the original funding approved by the legislature would have saved districts a total of $37.5 million. The vast majority of that assistance would benefit the state’s 33 lowest-performing districts, which serve a large population of low-income students and children of color.