On May 7, 2024, the General Assembly passed H.B. 5523, a budget stabilization bill that appropriates funds for fiscal year 2025 and makes a number of different policy changes to K-12 education and other areas. Along with maintaining the $150 million in additional funding for K-12 education in FY 2025 that was allotted as part of the state budget passed last year, the bill overhauls how Connecticut distributes state education funding to school districts.
This policy briefing discusses the authority of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Connecticut State Department of Education to intervene in low-performing public schools and districts in their respective states.
This literature review examines the academic research related to school district consolidation and school consolidation and looks at the financial and academic costs and benefits associated with district or school consolidation. Included in this review are 40 articles related to school district size, consolidation, and other types of school district regionalization, and 18 articles related to school consolidation, school size, and school closure.
In fiscal year 2015, property taxes accounted for 38 percent of total state and local revenues in Connecticut. This frequently asked questions document looks at Connecticut's property tax system and discusses common property tax features such as a split roll tax, homestead tax exemption, a meaningful property tax circuit breaker, or an assessment schedule that ensures accurate grand list valuations.
This frequently asked questions document discusses fiscally independent school districts and the structural differences between school districts that are fiscally independent and those, like the vast majority of Connecticut's school districts, that are fiscally dependent.
As a supplement to our January 2018 report, Factors Contributing to Health of State Employee Pension Funds, this policy briefing analyzes the health of Connecticut’s Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), examines the factors that led to the system’s current funding level, and discusses the features of the system that differentiate it from other public pension systems, such as Connecticut’s State Employees Retirement System (SERS).