Shaking Up Public Education in CT

02.18.2011
Issues & Policies

Shaking up the status quo in Connecticut’s education system is a major priority of Governor Malloy and he outlined several ways to do that in his budget address this week.  

“That so many of our children are falling behind without ever getting the chance to get ahead … is something we should not tolerate,” said the governor.

He took aim at closing Connecticut’s worst-in-the-nation educational achievement that is putting young people–and the state’s economic future—at risk.

Governor Malloy proposes to start closing the gap by increasing investments in education, expanding Pre-K, opening up more seats at innovative schools, and enabling school districts to hold onto talented teachers.

The budget’s biggest education commitment maintains the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants with additional grants to municipalities. He also plans to have a commission review the ECS formula and proposes changes for next fiscal year.

Improving the quality of classroom instruction is another goal. Governor Malloy wants to reform teacher tenure rules to give local school districts the flexibility they need to retain new and talented teachers.

“I’m pro-reform as long as it doesn’t mean teacher-bashing, and I’m pro-teacher, as long as it doesn’t mean maintaining the status quo,” said the governor. Part of that commitment is $2 million in the budget to build a teacher accountability and student data system.

And to make a “down payment” on the “dream” of expanding Pre-K opportunities to all children in the state, the governor wants $5.7 million in state funds to leverage an additional $4.1 million from private sources. He also aims to increase openings at charter and magnet schools and in the OPEN Choice program; and move the state’s vocational technical schools to local school districts.

Many of the governor’s proposals match closely those made by the Connecticut Commission on Educational Achievement, which cast a 10-year vision for education reform. Among other things, the commission recommends increasing accountability, expanding pre-school education, and attracting and keeping good teachers.

Governor Malloy also wants Connecticut’s state university and community college system “to step up.” He proposed reforming the system’s governance to “focus our resources more directly on … graduating more students and graduating them in two and four years.”

Earlier in the week, the governor called this change 'an economic issue. We need to adapt to a broad and changing economy and this will help,” he said, by directing more dollars to teaching (and results) and less to overhead.

CBIA supports reforming public education in Connecticut so that it better prepares young people for productive futures and ensures a stronger state economy.

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