Education advocates and a bipartisan group of legislators assembled in a packed room in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford this afternoon for a press conference arguing against proposed budget cuts to K-12 education in the state.
Earlier this month, Gov. Ned Lamont announced a draft budget adjustment that shifted more than $40 million in K-12 education funding to programs supporting early childhood education, including daycare and preschool. The total funding cuts to K-12 education total nearly $63 million.
Those cuts, which come from a variety of programs, would most notably include a removal of the tuition cap (currently 58%) that sending districts would be responsible for when students choose to attend a magnet or vocational agriculture program outside their assigned district. Some state school district leaders say this change would place a heavy burden on sending districts, particularly large urban districts like Hartford.
“Eliminating the established education reform will result in approximately $11 million of a hole in our budget. This would be in addition to the already planned cuts that are exceeding $50 million for next year’s budget,” said Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez. “And so, put another way, the $11 million equates to a hundred educators, all of whom are crucial to promoting academic recovery and success efforts for our young people.”
“The rhetoric in this state has long been: We love our teachers. We care about our schools. We want progress. We want equity for all of our opportunities for our children. But hey, can we do it with a coupon?” said Kate Dias, President of the Connecticut Education Association, eliciting the biggest cheers from the assembled supporters. “You shop at the Dollar Store, you get things that last for a dollar. So, we cannot have a Dollar Store mentality and then go, why am I not getting the cream of the crop? Why am I getting Dollar Store coupon activity? Well, you get what you pay for, ladies and gentlemen.”
The shifting of public dollars from one education program to another was of particular concern both for K-12 education advocates and those who work primarily in Early Childhood Education, the sector that benefits from these budget adjustments.
“We are pitted against each other, but education should not be that way,” argued Rep. Michelle Cook (D-Torrington), and member of the Early Childhood Education Caucus. “We should not say kindergarten through 12th grade is more important, and we’re not saying that birth to five years old is more important. We’re saying that every child is most important. And by our constitution, every child deserves a free and public education.”
Cook was one of two speakers arguing against shifting funds from one education sector to another, thereby forcing advocates to pick a side and fight for a limited pool of resources. Ultimately, though, Cook says that all stages of education should be funded appropriately because good education standards can lower costs down the line.
“The investment that we don’t make at the beginning cost us two or three times at the end,” Cook said, arguing that teachers making low wages are forced to utilize state services, as are parents who cannot afford to go back to work because of early childhood costs. “If we really talk about investing the dollars early, getting people off of social services, putting people back to work, reinvesting the workforce, that frees up a whole lot of money to invest on the things that we really need to pay for.”
“In addition to the amount of money we spend in remediation efforts at our higher ed institutions, [that] have added their words around their needs for funding at this moment in time,” added Rep. Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, who hosted the press conference. Currey noted that the amount of money needed to help adults who were not properly educated get up to speed is “ridiculous” and that increasing funding levels before students reach college age could close those gaps and lower public investment on the other end.
It is unclear where things will shake out by the end of this year’s session. Just minutes after the press conference concluded, Gov. Lamont’s office released a plea to the General Assembly to approve the funding changes, particularly the $43 million for early childhood education.
The release also highlighted a budget item that would increase some K-12 funding in the Education Cost Sharing line item. This would specifically be utilized for teacher salaries and classroom supplies.
“The ability of our K-12 education system to succeed depends in great part on the success of our early childhood education system, and we have a desperate need to expand these services, including through the hiring of more teachers,” said the governor in a statement. “There are thousands of families in our state who are unable to enroll their children in early childhood education because of a lack of resources. We have an opportunity this year to increase access to education for our youngest residents, and we should do it.”
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