On June 30, 2025, President Donald Trump's administration announced it was withholding over $6.8 billion in federal K-12 education funding for the 2025-26 school year, including an estimated $53.6 million for Connecticut public school districts and community organizations.
This interactive model breaks down each aspect of the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula and details how each town's grant is determined. Additionally, the model details each town's estimated projected ECS grants, according to the formula, from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2032.
The Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant is distributed to Connecticut school districts in three parts throughout the year: October, January, and April. This one-pager summarizes the ECS grant payment schedule and how districts receive their ECS grant.
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.
The Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula uses several components to calculate town ECS grants, including student counts and town wealth data. This projection model details how each of the ECS formula's components impact a town's ECS grant.
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.