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08/18/2017 12:00 AMWith no state budget in place, Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced revisions to the Executive Order Resource Allocation Plan along with new municipal aid distributions on Friday, Aug. 18. The plan puts priority on funding 30 of the state's most financially vulnerable school districts and, in doing so, reduces funding for 85 Connecticut towns to zero.
"In the absence of an adopted budget from the General Assembly, my administration is reallocating resources to pay for basic human services, education in our most challenged school districts, and the basic operation of government," Malloy said. "The municipal aid that is funded as part of this executive order reflects the nearly impossible decisions Connecticut must make in the absence of a budget. It will force some of our municipalities – both large and small – to make similarly difficult choices of their own."
For many towns along the shoreline, those "difficult choices" will mean finding a way to fill the void left by millions of dollars of cuts. As it is currently written, East Haven is alone in retaining the $19,595,415 in state Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funding that it received in 2017.
North Branford and Clinton face the worst cuts of the governor's order. North Branford will continue to receive some ECS funding from that state under the new proposal, but instead of receiving the $8,076,776 as it did in 2017, the town would receive $807,678 in 2018, a nearly 90% loss of funding. Clinton would see its current $6,326,998 ECS grant reduced to zero.
Locally, Branford, Chester, Deep River, Essex, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, North Haven, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook would join Clinton with an ECS funding drop to zero.
"While we appreciate the governor's focus on our neediest municipalities, his proposed cuts would have a devastating effect on many school districts across Connecticut," said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven). "Democrats in the Senate are dedicated to Connecticut's great public education system and have been diligently working on a plan that will save school districts from the vast majority of these cuts."
Looney said that the Democrats intend to caucus early during the week of Aug. 21 in hopes of progressing toward a final budget agreement. Such an agreement could potentially reverse the cuts outlined by the governor.
Proposed Education Cost Sharing Funding Cuts
Branford: Received $2,211,848 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Chester: Received $659,216 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Clinton: Received $6,326,998 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Deep River: Received $1,675,092 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
East Haven: Received $19,595,415 in 2017. Would receive $19,595,415 in 2018.
Essex: Received $105,052 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Guilford: Received $2,740,394 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Killingworth: Received $2,173,420 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Madison: Received $446,496 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
North Branford: Received $8,076,776 in 2017. Would receive $807,678 in 2018.
North Haven: Received $3,842,088 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Old Saybrook: Received $122,907 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
Westbrook: Received $70,393 in 2017. Would receive $0 in 2018.
View the full proposal from the governor here.