Connecticut municipal leaders and educators want Gov. Ned Lamont and lawmakers to adjust the state’s 2017 fiscal guardrails next year.
They say it’s needed to allow for more state money to be spent on K-12 public education.
Joe DeLong, CEO of the Connecticut Council of Municipalities, said only 36% of local education budgets in Connecticut have come from the state since the fiscal guardrails were adopted, which is much lower than neighboring states.
“Most of our surrounding states are anywhere from 41% to 45%. We are in the lowest quartile in the country in how much the state of Connecticut funds public education,” DeLong said.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the state would need to spend more than $500 million a year to improve education in cities and poorer school districts to bring them closer to the spending levels of richer suburban districts.
“Our kids are often multilingual learners, so it’s already more difficult for them to engage in the school environment. So, we need to spend more. So, that $545 million may sound like a lot. But in reality, it is not that much to invest in our kids,” Elicker said.
In past years, Lamont has resisted requests to adjust the state’s fiscal guardrails. His next two-year budget proposal will be presented to lawmakers in February.