Statement from the Connecticut School Finance Project on Today's Ruling in CCJEF v. Rell

New Haven, Conn. – In response to today's ruling in Hartford Superior Court in the case of Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding v. Rell, the Connecticut School Finance Project has released the following statement from director and founder Katie Roy.

Note: The Connecticut School Finance Project is not involved with the case, nor is it affiliated with the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding or any of the plaintiffs in the case.

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Today’s ruling in Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding (CCJEF) v. Rell by Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher is historic for school finance in Connecticut and emphasizes what educators, parents, students, and community leaders have been saying for nearly four decades—Connecticut’s school finance system is broken and illogical. While today’s decision will likely be appealed to the Connecticut State Supreme Court, Connecticut’s students, parents, educators, community leaders, and policymakers know our state’s school finance system is in serious need of repair.

For nearly four decades, our state has attempted to create equitable school funding through a series inconsistent fixes, patchwork policies, and flawed formulas. The result is a convoluted and broken system that Connecticut can no longer ignore if we want to move our state forward and ensure a strong economy with opportunities for all citizens to thrive.

Connecticut’s school finance challenges will not be solved until an equitable school funding formula is put in place that funds students based on their learning needs. For Connecticut to provide all its students with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed, our state must adopt a school finance system that the state's students, schools, and communities need and deserve. This means implementing an equitable school finance system that uses a formula to fund all students fairly; allocates funding based on student learning needs; distributes education dollars in a way that is consistent, predictable, efficient, and transparent; and meets the needs of communities and the state’s budget.

Fixing our state’s flawed school finance system will be a challenging task, but it presents Connecticut with the opportunity to create the school finance system our students, families, and communities deserve. We look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders across the state to identify solutions to Connecticut’s school funding challenges and implement a new, equitable school finance system that is fair to students, taxpayers, and communities.

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