Board of Education Vice Chair Joe Sokolovic, writes in his personal capacity “While education advocates and leaders across Connecticut are taking a victory lap, they need to understand that for many of us the fight is far from over.”
As the legislative session was in its last few hours, I sat in a operations committee meeting. Sadly we were looking at potential cuts that would still be needed should the best-case scenarios took place as written into bills as of that moment. Bridgeport still needs around $14 million to avoid cuts before any estimated savings.
While education advocates and leaders across Connecticut are taking a victory lap, they need to understand that for many of us the fight is far from over. There were many moments this year when joint advocacy mattered. School boards, municipal leaders, parent groups, and grassroots organizations moved together rather than in silos. I am proud to have been a part of that. That unity delivered results that were better than I expected when the session began.
However, progress is not victory. Any victory walk that ignores the increased walking distances our children will be facing in cities like Bridgeport, is not only premature, it’s counterproductive.
Yes, collaboration worked in this unique election year where all districts finally had a taste of what Hartford and Bridgeport have experienced for year. Coordinated advocacy, with districts new to the fight, helped blunt some of the cuts. There is real value in that. In a unique intersection of a gubernatorial election year and the end of Covid-era dollars the political environment was primed for change. We seized the moment. For that, everyone involved deserves credit.
However, despite the jubilation coming out of the Capitol, Connecticut’s largest and highest-need districts remain on the precipice of devastating cuts. If nothing changes, Bridgeport is facing at a minimum — to start — school closures, loss of all kindergarten paraprofessionals and eliminating buses for many students.
If these cuts are implemented, they will violate the spirit, and the letter of both the U.S. Constitution and the Connecticut Constitution, which guarantee equal protection under the law and, in our state, an adequate education for every child. Those guarantees do not come with a footnote that says “unless a state statute says you have to balance the budget by any means even if it violates your constitutional obligation.”
This is where the victory narrative upsets me the most.
You cannot claim success in a session that leaves districts serving Black, Latino, immigrant, multilingual, and special education students facing disproportionate harm. You cannot claim progress while at the same time quietly accepting an outcome that continues failing to fully address inequality. The Governor and Legislature cannot call it responsible budgeting when the cost savings come directly out of classrooms that have been asked to do more with less for decades.
What is most troubling is the disconnect between what we hear and what we see. We hear the Governor say he is committed to equity. But buried beneath the headlines is an ominous truth concerning next year. It is not an election year and there is the real possibility of major cities being flat funded next year. This will be compounded by the absence of an election year tax stabilization grant. This is a one shot deal. FY 28 Bridgeport will start off with a $10 million need plus about $15 million in escalated costs. So we start off with a $25 million need with the real potential of flat funding on the state level. Here’s why.
This is what few have noticed just yet. There was no increase to the foundation. It remains frozen at 2013 levels. The “extra” ECS was placed on top of the prior allocation and is being allocated according to the formula without raising the foundation amount. Had the foundation amount been raised it would have been up to at least $13,000. This matters because next year all districts are not likely to see a single extra dollar unless and until the foundation amount increases to over the $13k. For Bridgeport that means looking for $25 million more from the city, or even further cuts.
Student will suffer. Cities like Bridgeport will once again be forced to absorb decisions made far from their classrooms but paid for dearly within them.
So, yes, recognize the progress, both advocates and electeds alike. We did better than expected. But let’s not break our arms by patting ourselves on the back just yet. Not while massive cuts still loom this year and next. Not while constitutional obligations are being unmet.
The session may be over. The fight for equal treatment and an adequate education is yet to be won.
New revised number in light of the above updated press release. (I am most pleasantly surprised). Thanks to all for their work thus far.
Now we “only” need to find $9 million dollars (before accounting for any “savings” in special education every year I’ve been on have never materialized)
Still devastating to a district without Librarians. Still any cut made to our district in my opinion would be be a failure to provide a constitutionally guaranteed adequate eduction.
If I am ever called to the witness stand as an agent in the state charged with carrying out this mandate, I highly suggest that the State treat me as a hostile witness.
I will not lie under oath and say our district has met this constitutional obligation, should the board vote to cut any more from our children’s education.
Let us all BOE, City Council, and State not celebrate just yet but continue to fight tooth and nail to get every dollar needed to make our kids whole.