On Wednesday, March 4, the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation submitted testimony in support of Senate Bill 007, An Act Concerning Educational Equity which helps to address longstanding disparities in state education funding and can ensure adequate support, so all students have access to the resources they need to be successful. The foundation also supports the legislation’s efforts to increase the foundation level within the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Grant, address chronic absenteeism in schools, and provide support for teachers working in school districts in distressed municipalities.
The foundation supports Senate Bill 007’s focus on adjusting the foundation amount of the ECS grant. The foundation was last adjusted in fiscal year 2014 and is currently set at $11,525. We know that the cost to educate a student has increased substantially over the past 12 years, and it is time for the state to address this underfunding. While this proposal impacts all public-school districts, it is especially crucial to districts with limited ability to cover rising costs due to inadequate property tax bases. This bill increases the foundation amount to $12,500 in FY27, $13,500 in FY28, $14,500 in FY29, and $15,500 in FY30. The foundation also applauds the bill’s proposal to index the foundation amount to inflation beginning in FY 30 to ensure that ECS funding continues to meet the needs of our students going forward.
For the past twelve years, the foundation has worked to support seven of Greater Hartford region’s Alliance Districts (Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Vernon, Windsor, and Windsor Locks). This work has focused on supporting integration of school, parent, and community partnerships to ensure that all partners are working together to meet the holistic needs of students. These efforts focus on ensuring that all students have the support they need to successfully graduate from high school. These districts have schools where the majority of its students—in many cases the entire student body—are eligible for free and reduced school lunches. As these communities continue to develop strategies to improve student outcomes, getting adequate, stable, and consistent increased support from the state is vital to ensuring all students have an opportunity for success.
From our work with Hartford Public Schools, we know the district is challenged to meet the costs of educating its students primarily due to rising special-education costs, higher staffing expenses, and declining enrollment. The decline in enrollment has reduced education funding at the same time staffing costs, including support for special education paraprofessionals and tuition rates for students attending schools out-of-district have risen. Hartford’s challenges are significant, and similar issues are occurring in public school districts throughout the state. All districts would benefit from the financial boost in the bill.
Funding Connecticut’s schools is complex and challenging, involving many factors. The foundation supports the proposed establishment of a working group to study the ECS formula, and consider additional improvements, increases and modifications to ensure state education funding is distributed effectively and equitability.
We know that one of the key ingredients to successfully educating our students is the dedicated and talented staff who support them. The competition for attracting well-qualified and talented teachers is fierce and many municipalities unable to pay high salaries often struggle to find the staff they need. The foundation supports this proposal’s creation of a Student Teacher Investment and Professional Educator Network Development program. This program would provide paid stipends to student teachers working in distressed municipalities as long as they continue to teach in a distressed municipality for five years after completion of their undergraduate degree. We know that for student teachers who lack financial support struggle financially while engaging in their work due to not receiving any compensation. The stipends will ensure that people from all backgrounds wishing to become educators have the support to complete their course of studies. This program will be an important tool in attracting and retaining these teachers, including student teachers from families with limited income who have lived in districts with the most need.
The Greater Hartford Gives Foundation is ready to partner with legislators, the administration, advocates, philanthropy and other stakeholders to improve education and employment opportunities for our youth. We also invite policymakers to meet with us to understand and discuss how philanthropic dollars can fill gaps in equitable education strategies that may not be best suited for public dollars.