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.
On February 7, 2024, Governor Ned Lamont released his recommended budget adjustments for fiscal year 2025 — the second year of the state's biennial budget. The governor's proposal would alter the current state budget and make a number of changes to policies and funding for K-12 education — including reducing funding appropriated for public schools by $62.9 million.
Since property tax revenue remains the largest source for education funding in Connecticut, tax abatements raise questions about the impacts of incentives on communities’ abilities to fund their local public schools. This document helps address some of these frequently asked questions about tax abatements and their potential impacts on local education funding.
The Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula is used by the State of Connecticut to distribute approximately $2.36 billion annually in state education funding. This infographic breaks down the ECS formula and provides an easy-to-understand look at how it is used to provide state funding to Connecticut's local and regional public school districts.
This spreadsheet contains a town-by-town list of estimated Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 with comparisons to FY 2023 ECS funding levels.
Glossary compiled by the School and State Finance Project defining terms related to school funding in Connecticut.