October 1 is typically the annual deadline for the distribution of a state’s education budget to public school districts. However, 2017 presents itself differently. Faced with a $3.5 million deficit, Connecticut state lawmakers have continually failed to reach an agreement on the state budget for this fiscal year. In recent months, the state congress attempted to pass a budget bill to do so; however, it was vetoed by Governor Daniel P. Malloy’s Executive Order Resource Allocation Plan over the summer in an effort to fund only essential programs. The order is starting to take its toll statewide, and public education is expected to be affected drastically, with millions of dollars in cuts.
As a consequence of the Executive Order, funding will be cut completely from 85 school districts, while another 54 districts should anticipate significant cuts. Newington, for example, is expected to lose 90% of all funding. Furthermore, Connecticut has one of the highest wealth imbalances in the nation. Relative to more privileged districts such as Glastonbury and West Hartford, cities like Waterbury, Bridgeport, and Hartford will essentially have no funding for their schools. The Wallingford school system, which encompasses thousands of local students and faculty, will also face significant cuts.
The lack of public education funding could entail many possibilities. According to Ms. Fran Rabinowitz, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, “You’re going to see teachers laid off. You’re going to see the after-school, programs cut. You’re going to see varsity sports cut. You’re going to see world languages cut.”
Lyman Hall High School, one of Wallingford’s public secondary schools where academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities abound, may be forced to remove some of its programs to cope with the lack of funding. In addition, students may see some of the teachers they’ve had since the beginning of the school year laid off.
In the midst of this confusion and insecurity, legislatures await a state supreme court ruling as to whether the cuts to public education funding are even constitutional. Although the effects of the Executive Order will undoubtedly be devastating, the Governor insisted, “It is something that is designed to get us through the immediacy of not having a budget immediately.”
