The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has ordered a forensic audit of the Bridgeport School District.
At an April 2 meeting of the Board of Education, CSDE Deputy Commissioner for Academics and Innovation Charles Hewes provided an update on steps the department has been taking to address issues in the district.
During a January 22 special meeting, the board voted to authorize CSDE commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker to take action to support the district. CSDE has intervened in three primary ways: by establishing a technical assistance team, identifying training for the Bridgeport Board of Education, and allowing the Bridgeport Board of Education to begin a hiring process for a superintendent, but reserving the right to allow Russell-Tucker to halt that search.
Hewes said that the technical assistance team has been convened and visited the district five times. He also said that a team from the State Education Resource Center (SERC) has led over 40 listening sessions in the district, including with members of the community, school administrators, and teachers. According to Hewes, the technical assistance team has identified several areas of concern, including the district’s decision making, financial, and human resources procedures.
Hewes said that the technical assistance team found administrators of schools don’t have assess to their operational budgets. He also said the maintenance of facilities was a concern, with a survey of buildings in the district finding eight schools were over 100 years old.
While Bridgeport’s Board of Education began looking for a new superintendent on March 18, Russell-Tucker paused the search. According to Hewes, CSDE’s position is that the board needs more training and to establish processes and procedures before the district is authorized to renew the search.
He added that, after review, CSDE found 23 mandated policies that apply to the district are nonexistent and another 23 need updates from the Bridgeport Board of Education.
Hewes also stated that Russell-Tucker has authorized a request for proposal of a forensic audit of the district.
Next steps CSDE is taking include having the technical team further investigate the district’s budgetary issues, gathering information on the $38 million deficit that partially led to CSDE’s involvement in the district, providing special education services, and improving the district’s general operations.
During the April 2 meeting, the state board of education also briefly discussed an update on actions CSDE has taken to ensure Hartford Public Schools are fiscally stable after the district’s superintendent proposed budget and staff cuts to partially address a budget shortfall in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
In addition to an ongoing settlement in Sheff v. O’Neil requiring the district to address racial segregation, a district policy allowing students to receive a 50 as the lowest possible grade even if they have done no work has drawn CSDE scrutiny. The school district has also been the subject of several recent lawsuits, including over student exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, and over one teacher’s claim he was investigated for speaking out during a diversity training.
According to the update, CSDE’s Office of Internal Audit (OIA) is still reviewing documents as part of an assessment of the district’s magnet schools and their compliance with the settlement in Sheff v. O’Neill. Preliminary findings from on-site interviews with staff at nine interdistrict magnet schools conducted in December 2024 indicated principles have limited training on budget processes and that since the equity-based funding framework was implemented as part of the Sheff settlement, the school district has reduced magnet school budgets and administrators have less autonomy over staffing and grant fund expenditures.
CSDE is also working with SERC to determine what the district’s budget means for its ability to fulfill federal and state obligations to provide services to students with disabilities.
Russell-Tucker also provided an update on where CSDE stands with access to federal funding from the Department of Education (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to Russell-Tucker, while CSDE’s access to funding from those agencies has not been disrupted, the DOE notified the department last Friday that, as of 5 p.m. on that day, it was modifying a “liquidation period” for COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.
The money was previously required to be liquidated by January unless states received an extension, granted under former president Joe Biden’s administration. CSDE had been granted an approval to extend its liquidation period until March 28, 2026, but this was revoked on Friday. According to Russell-Tucker, almost all school districts in the state have already fully expended their funds but 22 districts have been impacted. Russell-Tucker said she had communicated with superintendents and that CSDE will follow instructions to resubmit projects for which it previously received approval.
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