Summary of the Revised FY 2016-17 Budget for the State Department of Education

With its adoption of S.B. 501 (2016, May Special Session), “An Act Adjusting the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2017,” the Connecticut General Assembly finalized its revisions to the FY 2016-17 adopted state budget. This document includes a summary of the revised FY 2016-17 State Department of Education Budget, including a town-by-town analysis of the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant.

The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) revised FY 2016-17 budget reduces all but one program from the FY 2016-17 adopted budget. In total, the FY 2016-17 revised budget decreases the CSDE budget by $108.6 million or 3.5 percent.

When comparing the CSDE revised budget for FY 2016-17 to the original FY 2016-17 adopted as part of P.A. 15-244, there are a number of significant reductions over $1 million including:

1. ($32.1 million) for the Education Cost Sharing grant (town-by-town detail can be found in the attached document);
2. ($26.7 million) to eliminate the two transportation grants (transportation mandate remains);
3. ($11.9 million) for magnet schools;
4. ($7.8 million) for the Connecticut Technical High School System (CTHSS);
5. ($4.2 million) for Excess Costs special education grants;
6. ($3.2 million) for educator improvement programs and talent development;
7. ($2.9 million) for Open Choice;
8. ($2.5 million) for the Priority School District grant;
9. ($2.3 million) for state-administered student assessments;
10. ($1.9 million) for charter schools;
11. ($1.9 million) for educator professional development associated with the implementation of new academic standards;
12. ($1.6 million) for personnel; and
13. ($1.5 million) to eliminate School Accountability, a program to turnaround low-achieving schools.

Note: This summary should not be construed as either supporting or opposing any of the budget provisions and/or changes detailed in this document. Additionally, this summary is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis of S.B. 501 (2016, May Special Session), S.B. 502 (2016, May Special Session), or P.A. 15-244 and instead focuses on reductions to the Connecticut State Department of Education’s budget. As a result, programs possibly impacting K-12 in Connecticut that are found under other state agency budgets have not been analyzed or included in this summary. Additionally, this summary was written without reviewing the directives from the Office of Fiscal Analysis because they were not yet available at the time of writing.