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Malloy talks of surpluses while his new budget aims for a
deficit
By Keith M. Phaneuf Feb
13, 2012 When animated television tyke
Lisa Simpson had to announce a tax increase to the American public, she deftly
called it a "temporary refund adjustment," avoiding any mention of the
three-letter T-word.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's
administration stole a page from The Simpsons last
week, repackaging a projected deficit in his new budget as a conditional
surplus -- all without using the D-word.
Read complete article at http://ctmirror.org/story/15418/malloy-talks-surpluses-while-his-new-budget-aims-deficit
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Malloy proposes $50 million increase in ECS funding
Gov. Dannel
P. Malloy asked state legislators today to send an additional $50 million to
local school districts, a move that school advocates say will cover a small
portion of what the state actually owes them.
"It's still a long shot
off," said Dianne Kaplan DeVreis, the leader of
a coalition of municipalities suing the state for chronically underfunding
education.
Estimates by DeVreis, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and
the State Department of Education's budget office show that the state owes
education at least $725 million more a year for the state's
education funding formula to work as intended
"This $50 million is
totally symbolic," DeVreis said of Malloy's
closing the shortfall by 7 percent. "Don't get me wrong, the budgets in
these districts are a disaster, and it is really a godsend."
Malloy's plan released this morning will
funnel additional money to 120 districts, with the largest percentage increases
going to high-need school districts. Stamford's funding will jump 11.5 percent,
Hartford by 2.6 percent and Bridgeport
and New Haven
by 2.7.
"This will surely
help," said Paul Vallas, the interim
superintendent of Bridgeport Public Schools, where failure to close a budget
gaps resulted in the State Board of Education voting to replace their school board. This
proposal will increase the funding the state sends them by $4.4 million for the
fiscal year beginning July 1.
Jim Finley, the leader of CCM,
said this new funding is a great down payment.
"It's a start, but it's
certainly not the answer," he said. "In a perfect world he would have
adjusted the funding to match what it actually cost to educate children."
He also noted that, it's not
quite $50 million, considering that Malloy's plan calls on these same towns to
pick up some of the cost for it's students attending
charter schools. If this requirement moves forward, and local school districts
have to pay $1,000 per student attending a charter schools, the cost totals
$6.4 million a year for local districts.
Overall, all of the education
proposals Malloy has rolled out over the past week have a total price tag of
almost $130 million a year. No municipality will lose funding.
"It's a substantial
investment in the state's education system," said Education Commissioner
Stefan Pryor, noting the funding comes with strings attached. He said for the
state's 30 lowest-achieving districts, they will have to make certain reforms before they can receive the
increase. Some of those reforms could include a longer school day or
professional development provided when teacher evaluations show a teacher is in
need of extra help.
The current formula weighs how
much money to send to districts based on the needs of those high-need children.
Poverty measurements will change drastically under this proposal. Malloy wants
to use the income threshold that qualifies children for the state's health care
plan, which equates to about $40,000 for a family of four. Shifting away from
using Title I thresholds, Barnes said, will result in a "significant
increase" in the number of children being considered in poverty.
The weight and money directed
to districts for the students with limited English proficiency they enroll will
not change. Wealthier towns will not lose funding under this plan, but future
increases in state funding will not be forthcoming with a shift in minimum
allocation requirements. High-performing districts will be given flexibility to
cut their budget.
The proposed budget adjustments
cut funding to the state's Vocational Technical High Schools by $9.6 million, a
7 percent cut
http://ctmirror.org/story/15364/malloy-proposes-closing-portion-budget-hole-municipalities-say-state-owes-them