Malloy stuck to his campaign promise to hold state funding to local districts at $1.9 billion, the same level as this year. Although the state is losing $270 million in federal stimulus funding next year, the governor's budget fills the gap so that districts won't see a drop in Education Cost Sharing grants. In addition, the governor is creating a committee to recommend a new way to calculate and distribute state aid for local school districts.
According to an article by the Associated Press
Malloy addressed teachers directly during his budget speech Wednesday, asking them not to look at the state aid as a pool for more raises -- which he said "will surely result in some of your colleagues losing their jobs or having larger classroom sizes."
"Teachers do heroic work, and I salute and admire them for it. But in these difficult times, we need to ask that you too share in the sacrifices we're all making," he said.
Another portion of Malloy's proposal would require teacher and administrator evaluations to factor in students' academic progress. He said he also wants reforms in teacher tenure rules "to give local school districts the flexibility they need to retain new, talented teachers," though he did not immediately offer specifics.The governor's budget also included increases for school choice programs. He's proposing an additional $70 million for 10,047 new seats in magnet, charter and the Open Choice program that sends urban students to suburban schools.
While secondary education and ECS funding was saved, state college funding was slashed. The governor is proposing a $143.5 million reduction to public colleges and universities, including Norwalk Community College, over the next two years.
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Very interesting. So then, does our governor suggest we adopt a realistic approach to the state of Connecticut's financial picture, when many will be speaking out tomorrow night in favor of increasing the cap? With Malloy's state taxes imposed upon local businesses, it seems most unfair to burden them with additional local taxes. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying reform isn't needed but in order to factor in student achievement into teacher evaluation you would have to have the students living with the teacher from birth! Too many factors outside of the school control impact student achievment. such as, is the child being abused, does the child have enough food to eat, does he go to bed at a reasonable time, does he have medical care when he is sick, does he have support with homework, the list goes on...
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