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Health & Fitness

Embracing Reform and Fiscal Discipline to Restore Connecticut's Leadership in Education

A new day for education in Connecticut: long-awaited reforms and making sure we have the means to achieve them

Last Wednesday was Opening Day of the General Assembly’s 2012 short session. Consistent with tradition, Governor Malloy addressed a joint session of the House and Senate on his priorities for the session and the year ahead. As expected, much of his speech was devoted to reform of Connecticut’s education system.

During the previous week, the governor had issued a regular flow of statements, each on a separate piece of his education reform plan. Opening Day was an opportunity to tie them all together.

As policy, the plan should have substantial bipartisan support, as many of us have been consistent advocates for quite a number of the proposals it contains.

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The governor’s plan attacks Connecticut’s yawning achievement gap – the largest in the country – from all sides. It aims to improve early education quality and access, enhance school choice options, raise standards for teachers and administrators, streamline certification processes and reporting requirements, revise the ECS formula for the statewide allocation of education funds, and bring a laser-like focus to turning around failing schools. An area where there is likely to be more discussion and debate is a proposal to reform teacher tenure laws, reflecting the importance of student achievement and practical experience and including ways to reward exemplary performance.

Most of the governor’s plan will come before the Education Committee, on which I serve, in one large bill, SB 24. We have just received the first draft and will be analyzing and discussing it and seeking views from stakeholders and the public over the coming weeks.

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As the debate unfolds, there are two points of particular interest to our area towns that I hope to discuss. One is mandate relief for consistently high-performing districts like Wilton and Westport. The other is addressing components of the ECS formula that have led to generally recognized inequities in funding for Norwalk and Stamford, which are due in part to the disparity between their relatively high property values and the other factors that are used to gauge town wealth, poverty, and student needs.

I applaud the governor for presenting a comprehensive, intelligent and well-structured education reform plan that addresses multiple facets of our education system. It is impressive in its scope, depth, and attention to detail. If its reforms are not diminished through the legislative process, I believe that the plan will enable Connecticut to make significant progress toward closing its achievement gap. I hope it will also lead to more efficient use of financial resources in our education system, which currently has one of the country’s highest per student costs.

This is an ambitious program, but Connecticut, once a leader in education, deserves no less. A quality education system is fundamental to our state’s economy and standard of living.  Without one, Connecticut can neither build a sought-after, skilled workforce nor attract and retain companies that create jobs. The program is long overdue.

If Connecticut is to adopt it, however, it is up to the General Assembly to ensure that the state has the means to do so without jeopardizing its financial condition or its ability to provide other essential services to taxpayers.

At present, I am not confident that Connecticut’s financial condition is secure enough to ensure that the state will have those means. It is far from certain that revenues, even after a historic tax increase, will exceed, or even cover projected spending, and that is without taking into account any funds needed for the education program.

As a General Assembly, we have a responsibility to eliminate that risk by reducing spending, and making state government more affordable while preserving essential services. This is possible, but it will mean having the courage on both sides of the aisle to stare reality in the face and question current budgetary policy. We must also take a fiscally disciplined approach in budgeting for the program itself.

If all of us work together in a bipartisan manner to make the state’s financial situation healthier and more predictable, we can make sure that the children, families, and businesses of our state can benefit from this comprehensive education revitalization program, and we can do it in a fiscally responsible way. Connecticut’s future depends on it.

As always, please contact me with your thoughts on this important issue, at gail.lavielle@cga.ct.gov, or 860 240 8700.

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