Face the Facts: How the State is Investing in Education

One area where there are more calls for more investment is in education. Some groups are calling for more of that historic surplus that we have to go to things like the state's colleges and universities.

But not everyone is on board with that. So where are we in that process right now?

NBC Connecticut's Mike Hydeck spoke with State Representative Jeff Currey, a Democrat from East Hartford who is the chairperson of the Education Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Committee.

Mike Hydeck: So first up, there's gonna be a lot of to and from coming forward as we move into the decision-making process. When it comes to the budget, one of the debates that often comes up is how we fund education, the cost sharing, basically how much money the state gives back to cities and towns to pay for things like roofs and teacher salaries and other things. Should that change? The way we fund each town when it comes to the poor towns or the richer towns in Connecticut?

Jeff Currey: Absolutely. So if you remember, back in 2017, when we had numbers much closer together in both the Senate and the House, we passed out a bipartisan budget that created an actual formula for a way in which we're going to fund all of our public schools in the state of Connecticut.

Mike Hydeck: So Greenwich shouldn't get as much money as Bridgeport?

Jeff Currey: Exactly. So it's based on enrollment, it's based on need, there's various metrics to ensure that we are abiding by a formula and not just simply handing out arbitrary grants, the way in which they had done in the past. And so basically, taking 11 disjointed formula systems and getting that down to one and being able to provide that money out to under resourced districts is of the utmost importance and the main priority through House Bill 5003.

Mike Hydeck: Is it working right now? Or how should it be shifted in your mind if it's not working as it should?

Jeff Currey: So while we continue on the path that we set out for ourselves, that 10-year phase in and phase out, we're also rolling in the rest of our public schools. So that's our public magnets and our public charter school.

Mike Hydeck: I didn't realize that they weren't in the first round.

Jeff Currey: That is correct. So we will be funding all public schools using the same exact formula for the very first time I think, in history, probably.

Mike Hydeck: So as we know, and we've seen it, and this is decades in the making, this didn't just happen yesterday, the highest performing schools continually are Greenwich. Not just Greenwich, Westport, Darien things like that. They're all down in Fairfield County, a lot of them, they're usually among the highest in the country, even not even just here in Connecticut. Is there more at play, though, than the cost per student we're expending from taxpayer dollars? Is there more at play? Do social services have to come in? Because if you're a single parent family, and you're trying to work two jobs and get your kid help with homework, it's not just how much money we spent as a taxpayer per student, right?

Jeff Currey: Oh, absolutely. And we don't pretend to believe that this funding bill is going to solve all the problems within our public school systems. We simply are saying that through this, we're able to fulfill our obligation as a state to provide that money. Now, the problem is that we also are heavily reliant upon property taxes. And so in communities such as mine in East Hartford, and Manchester, or New Britain, who actually has not, who was one of the lowest performing districts, not only the state, but in the entire country, they are not able to tax their way out of this. So if we're able to at least fulfill our obligation and get them the money that they need, hopefully, they can get some of those additional resources and supports that they need for their students to get those accountability measures up.

Mike Hydeck: So you have a budget. You get money from the state, local taxes. There's also been federal money pumped into the system in the last two years. So I mean, tens of millions, sometimes over 100 million in cities and towns, does that help to offset some of the costs, like you're getting some federal money to help replace the roof on your high school. So that means there's money that you weren't going to use in your original budget. Has that helped cities and towns in the last?

Jeff Currey: So it's helped, but it's also hurt. And so that's part of the reason why 5003 is so important, because we actually implement that in fiscal year 2025, when those federal dollars go away. So many of the districts who hired support staff, paras, or psychologists or any of those mental health supports, right, exactly, those are going to go away if we don't provide them the money to get that fiscal cliff in order and so implementing this fully in 5003. And in '25, we're going to be able to get that done for the districts.

Mike Hydeck: And does it seem like it's well on track because of the surplus? We have the historic surplus. I mean, back-to-back surpluses.

Jeff Currey: So the appropriations budget that we passed out this past week, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, I was pleased to see that we had $150 million in there for this education finance reform. That is almost half of what we need at the end of the day to fully fund this in fiscal year '25. So those conversations and negotiations are ongoing, as you can imagine.

Mike Hydeck: And they're gonna have to be right, because some people, some education unions, others are saying, 'Look, you're not spending enough money on education here.' We're still falling behind from the pandemic trying to catch kids up in their math scores and other scores and other things that need to be accomplished, mental health. Where does that go from here? I mean, if the governor says, 'Look, this is where we're stopping education funding,' what happens at the legislature next?

Jeff Currey: Well, I mean, I think we have to have those conversations around, you know, we've talked about the intercepts and off budget, and I know the governor refers to that as gimmicky, but I don't think necessarily that funding and providing resources for our students throughout the state of Connecticut is necessarily a gimmick. I think it's our obligation as set out in the Constitution. But you know, we have to do something because our teachers, the morale is so low in the schools around the state. A number of them are looking to step aside and quit this profession altogether. And we have a teacher shortage as it is. So if that starts to happen, I don't know what kind of position that leaves our students in.

Mike Hydeck: That seems to be a program that has to be even to the side, because we're working in Hartford, we're recruiting teachers from Puerto Rico. We're trying to find them anywhere we can. That has to be part of the discussion moving forward. Do you think it will be?

Jeff Currey: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I sat and watched the actual, the Hartford Board of Ed presentation, I think it was something with 400 plus positions are vacant currently right now. Which if you are a parent and a family in those communities, I don't see how you don't look to us and the federal delegation to be doing more to provide what they need.