At the Capitol today, House Speaker Matt Ritter and Senator Doug McCrory joined the Mayor of Hartford Arunan Arulampalam to announce $10.5 million in funding to prevent layoffs at Hartford Public Schools.
“This is the beginning,” said Arulampalam. “It certainly doesn’t solve everything in Hartford Public Schools, but this is a commitment to working together to build strong schools for all of our kids.”
The $5 million will come directly from the state’s Education Cost Sharing program for the 2025 fiscal year.
“The state has made a commitment,” McCrory said. “By 2026, we will fully fund our ECS.”
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“This is the largest in the history of the state of Connecticut for funding to the city of Hartford for an ECS increase,” Ritter said.
The state funds come after Hartford Public Schools announced hundreds of layoffs in early April, but the new funding means that those positions are now restored.
McCrory said the government was able to free up funding by recalculating the formula that deals with tuition reimbursement.
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“If parents make the choice to send their child to a school outside of their community, no longer will the school system have to pay for it,” he said. “The state will pick up the cost. It’s their responsibility and obligation.”
In addition to the state money, $4.5 million will be borrowed from the Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund and $1 million will come from the City of Hartford. Mayor Arulampalam said the city has struck a deal with the superintendent to handle the cost of school crossing guards, which will free up that $1 million.
“That’s what happens when you have local government working collectively with the state government,” McCrory said. “You get things done, we don’t fall off the cliff.”
