Governor Lamont’s speech was encouraging as he focused on supporting students and strengthening public education. We appreciate the governor’s commitment to universal preschool, free school breakfast for all students, the creation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on K-12 schools to review funding, and efforts to reduce distractions by implementing a bell-to-bell cell phone ban– all critical issues facing our students, our educators, and our families.
Educators welcome having a voice on the Blue Ribbon Commission as it works to update the Education Cost Sharing formula, provide more resources directly to classrooms, and build on special education reforms. But the reality is that our districts are struggling now and can’t wait. We are hopeful that the legislature will act this session to ease the growing financial burden caused by rising costs that are straining so many districts. We strongly encourage the state to maintain its commitment to funding magnet school tuition and not shift the burden onto our already struggling cities and towns.
While we agree that Connecticut has among the best schools and educators in the country and appreciate the shoutout, we also need investments that keep us at the top. We look forward to working with policymakers on bold actions to address the educator shortage, improve recruitment and retention, ensure educators are treated fairly and professionally, and compensated competitively so that they can stay in the classroom and help students thrive.
