On April 22, 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly's Appropriations Committee introduced and passed its recommended state budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This nonpartisan analysis details these changes to state education funding in the Appropriations Committee's budget, and provides a brief overview of the general fiscal outlook of the state budget and economy.
The purpose of this tool is to provide comparisons between Connecticut towns based on the data used in the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula. The ECS formula is the method the State of Connecticut has established to distribute approximately $2.44 billion annually in state education funding to local and regional public school districts.
This infographic explains how the Excess Cost grant works. The grant is provided by the State of Connecticut to school districts to assist them in paying for students who have extraordinary special education needs and associated costs.
The Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula uses several components to calculate town ECS grants, including student counts and town wealth data. This model shows how each town's variables for the ECS formula have changed over the past five years.
On February 5, 2025, Governor Ned Lamont released his recommended biennial state budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This nonpartisan analysis details the changes to state education funding in the governor’s proposed budget, and provides a brief overview of the general fiscal outlook of the state budget and economy.
Education Funding Snapshot - Governor's Budget for FYs 2026 and 2027
Interactive Community Impact Tool - Governor's Budget for FYs 2026 and 2027
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The Alliance District program is one way the State of Connecticut approaches school improvements to aid student achievement. This policy briefing takes a look at the Alliance District program, its effectiveness, and what improvements can be made to help the program support districts.