The Connecticut State Board of Education voted unanimously on Wednesday to step in and help address the needs of Bridgeport Public Schools, which have been plagued by a shortage of educators, lack of resources and financial transparency, and more.
Bridgeport Education Association President Jeff Morrissey addressed the board before they voted earlier this week.
“As you know, the educators of Bridgeport identified a number of significant concerns about their working conditions this fall,” he said. “Our teachers continue to persevere and educate their students despite facing these challenges daily, and we need them to remain in the classroom.”
Morrissey described the lack of communication and collaboration he and his colleagues experienced with their previous administrator but noted that roundtable meetings and regular discussions with Bridgeport’s new interim superintendent and assistant superintendent have opened up productive conversations with teachers about special education services and more.

BEA President Jeff Morrissey addresses the State Board of Education in a special meeting exploring interventions to help Bridgeport Public Schools.
“Our interim superintendent is working with us and listening to teacher input, and this gives us optimism that the issues plaguing our schools are going to be addressed appropriately and with urgency,” he said. “We are confident that our new administration is trying to reduce the negative impact of the current budget issues on our students and our instruction. We know this is going to be challenging, but teachers want and need to be part of the solution.”
Bridgeport Board of Education member Rob Traber, a retired Bridgeport teacher and parent and grandparent to Bridgeport students, noted that during the tenures of the previous superintendent and board chair, he and several of his BOE colleagues found themselves “on the outside looking in.”
Describing what he characterized as a fiscally irresponsible path, Traber said he and other Bridgeport BOE members were “routinely prevented from asking questions, denied access to the district’s chief financial officer, and ignored when they urged fiscal prudence.” Both the board chair and superintendent have since been replaced, and Traber added the new chair and committees have begun correcting the district’s financial and managerial problems and are eager to continue that work.
Teachers at the table
Also testifying at the SBE’s special meeting was CEA President Kate Dias.
“You’ve heard from several speakers about their common interest in the more than 19,000 Bridgeport students who need our help and need assurances that the high-quality education we have promised them is the education we will provide them,” she said. “And we are confident that Bridgeport’s 1,600 certified staff members are ready to do that work—but what we bring forward is an interest in doing that work differently. We have extraordinary staff who are deeply committed to the school system but who have been ignored at almost every turn when they have raised their voices and said, ‘We would like something different; we want better for our students—we want better resources, training, supplies, programs, and opportunities.’”
She urged the SBE, “As we look to the future and think about all the possibilities for these 19,000 students, I ask that you invite their teachers to the table. The solution and the path forward have to be inclusive of those educators. I will promise you that if you don’t do that, nothing will change. We are the people in the classrooms with these children. We are on the phone with their families.”
Dias acknowledged that Bridgeport has “a fiscal hole that needs to be fixed” but cautioned, “We can’t solve it by eliminating school counselors, teachers, and social workers. We can’t fix Bridgeport Public Schools with those kinds of cuts. We are the ones who execute any plan that is developed, so why not put teachers in the space to help develop that plan? There is an opportunity embedded in this chaos, and the opportunity is to build out a public school system that the community wants, that the families need, the children deserve, and the teachers are ready to provide.”

CEA-Retired member Rob Traber, who serves on Bridgeport’s Board of Education, expresses optimism that solutions to the school system’s challenges are underway, with teachers, new administrators, and board members working collaboratively.
What’s next?
“Today’s action by the SBE is a pivotal moment in ensuring each of the 19,591 students in the Bridgeport Public Schools has the opportunity to succeed in learning, life, and work beyond school,” said Education Commissioner Russell-Tucker. “By collaborating with the local board of education, district leaders, educators, school staff and students, and the broader community, we maximize our ability to ensure that every child has the support they need to reach their full potential.”
Recognizing that the Bridgeport Board of Education needs additional training in board operations and fiscal management, the three-part plan that approved by the SBE would do the following:
- Provide a technical assistance team to offer guidance on various issues, including community conversations and roundtables with staff and parents about the schools
- Require financial and operations training for the Bridgeport Board of Education
- Ensure that the next superintendent, hired to replace the interim superintendent, has the approval of the state education commissioner.
Throughout the process, the Connecticut State Department of Education will regularly brief the SBE on the progress of Bridgeport Public Schools, and SBE meetings will allow for public testimony from parents and families, students, and members of the school community on these actions.
An initial meeting this afternoon at the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science & Technology Education Center is expected to bring together the commissioner, governor, Bridgeport’s mayor and superintendent of schools, Bridgeport Board of Education members, and several Bridgeport teachers for a roundtable discussion.