Yesterday, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a revised state budget for fiscal year 2027 that provides one of the largest single year increases in education funding in Connecticut history.
The budget invests an additional $183 million in the state's public schools, including an extra $162.2 million in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funding. The budget boosts every town's ECS grant by a minimum of 2% and, for the first time in 13 years, effectively raises the ECS formula's foundation amount from $11,525 to $13,087 per student.
Lisa Hammersley, Executive Director of the School and State Finance Project, issued the following statement on the budget's passage.
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Throughout this session superintendents, municipal leaders, and board of education members, along with thousands of students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers from across the state, spoke up and had a simple message for policymakers: affordability starts with fair education funding.
The budget passed yesterday shows that message was heard loud and clear.
The additional $183 million provided to our public schools under this budget is an investment in our communities, the affordability of our state, and Connecticut’s most important resource: its students.
The dollars provided under this budget not only offer much-needed relief to local taxpayers, they move our state closer to providing all students with the equitable, adequate education funding they deserve. The investment made today will help protect programs and services students and families rely on, it will help put high-quality teachers in every classroom, and it will help equip districts better support student learning, improve outcomes, and help every child reach their full potential.
We applaud House and Senate leadership and Governor Lamont for supporting Connecticut’s students and responding to the financial challenges school districts, communities, and taxpayers are currently facing. We also applaud the leadership and members of the Education and Appropriations Committees for their tireless work, and commend all the legislators whose advocacy helped make this critical investment a reality.
We look forward to working with legislators and the governor to build on the progress made this session to ensure Connecticut delivers the fair education funding that allows every student, family, and community to thrive.
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