The Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission is bringing attention to the state’s school funding formula that it says shortchanges needy districts while rewarding wealthy communities. See here. An article by The Connecticut Mirror’s Jacqueline Rabe Thomas also includes a map highlighting community education funding comparisons.
It seems like a reasonable standard: No town shall receive less money from the state to help run its schools than it did in the previous year.
But in practice this means several Connecticut school districts in the wealthiest towns–towns that have fewer high-need students–are receiving more money from the state than they would otherwise be entitled to.
Forty-three towns–including Darien, Easton, Greenwich, New Canaan and Westport–will this school year collectively receive $20.8 million more than dictated by the formula that is intended to direct state money to school districts, according to data from the Connecticut State Department of Education.
Full story here.
This is just heartbreaking. There are thousands of impoverished children and families that are being shortchanged while affluent communities are either fully funded or overfunded.
I agree with Maria, our poor children again are getting screwed by the state of Connecticut. Where is Mayor Finch and Tom McCarthy and all the people exhorting us to vote for Malloy? I can say I did not vote for this phoney bastard. Someone tell me why. Is it because they need a new artificial turf football field? We are getting what we deserve because people in this city believe all the Democratic bullshit. Someone kiss me please as I always get kissed when I get screwed.
CT Post March 2, 2015; this is a portion of State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton.
Greenwich gets a penny on the dollar for the $739 million in annual taxes it sends to the state while Bridgeport gets back more than double the $92 million it pays into the state’s coffers, according to the maps, which Boucher said were created by GOP volunteer Hank Karl, of Bethel.
“What you’ve done is polarized our society,” Boucher said. “It’s becoming strained. I’ve heard parent after parent saying, ‘I don’t mind my tax dollars going to Bridgeport schools, if only they would get better outcomes.'”
Elected to a fourth term last November after flirting with a run for governor, Boucher represents some of the wealthiest towns in the state in Wilton, Westport, Redding, Ridgefield and parts of New Canaan, Weston and Bethel.
Within the past week I reported that info from our external auditor in the Annual State Single Audit Report indicated during the 12 months of the 2013-14 fiscal year the State of CT from a variety of different programs and grants provided a total of $297,334,831 to the City of Bridgeport. I never saw anybody say THANK YOU to the State of CT. After all, we as taxpayers put up a few million less for the City operating budget.
Why aren’t more people saying THANK YOU to the legislature? Is it because we see we are $15-40 Million less than New Haven or Hartford? Are we seeing our cup less than half full? Do we believe our own City budget process is so tight at origin and shepherded through the year by keen-eyed monitors and structural watchdogs? (That question is for comic relief as we do not have shepherds, watchdogs or monitors, unfortunately like other communities do.)
Getting better outcomes with less money would be one way to show we are worthy of more funding. What might other practices look like, both to get those school outcomes so important to youth of the community and to be sure funds are not wasted by untimely and inadequate reporting, by ignoring reporting requirements on purchases in City ordinances, by not keeping track of City Net Taxable Grand List growth (or weakening)? What numbers would you like to see reported monthly, quarterly or annually from the City over ten-year periods to be indicators for proving better outcomes? If we are getting better daily, how do we prove it, BRETT B., by the numbers? Time will tell.
Never fear, McCarthy just made Holloway chair of the Education and Social Services Committee. Did anyone notice?