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.
The District Repair and Improvement Project (DRIP) program is a new program that provides reimbursement grants to school districts for minor capital repairs and improvements to public school buildings, grounds, and infrastructure.
During the 2025 legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a bonding bill that contained several policy changes affecting school construction and capital projects.
This document addresses how Connecticut currently aids in school construction, how school construction grant reimbursement can be improved, and how the State can better support schools in maintaining facilities through minor capital improvement grants.
In Connecticut, the cost per square foot for school construction, adjusted for inflation, increased 64 percent between 2000 and 2012. This report examines the costs, processes, and state funding associated with school construction in Connecticut and its peer states. The report also examines legislative changes made in 2017 to Connecticut's school construction grant program.