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Hartford Courant: Plan to ‘fully fund’ state education funding for local school districts moves forward

Published: Updated: Seamus McAvoy, Hartford Courant

In 2017, Connecticut lawmakers overhauled the way the state funds schools by creating a formula that directs more dollars to districts with larger populations and greater levels of student need. But districts aren’t yet receiving what they should.

The legislature is now considering a bill that would leverage the state’s strong fiscal health to fully fund the formula, known as education cost sharing, in an effort to accelerate aid for underfunded districts and streamline the process by which need is calculated.

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Proponents of the bill say the early implementation of “student-centered funding” will help bridge the “fiscal cliff” faced by some districts, and make it easier for high-need districts to hire teachers, social workers and plan long-term services.

Urban school districts in particular stand to benefit from millions of dollars more in state funding by 2025.