State School Board Approves ECS Cut

By Jeff White

The State Board of Education has endorsed a budget-cutting plan that would reduce the Education Cost Sharing Grant (ECS) by $185 million, in response to Governor John Rowland’s challenge to the board to submit options for trimming 13 percent from its budget.

The state school board and Connecticut Department of Education said the decision to cut 13 percent from the ECS is “the least harmful” among budget cutting alternatives.

According to estimates released by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the impact of the cut would translate into a reduction of $495,886 for Newtown; the town currently receives $3,739,607 in state ECS funds.

The state school board’s decision to approve the cut has drawn criticism from education advocates dismayed that the reductions will have detrimental impacts on students. “Cutbacks to the ECS cannot be sold as responsible public policy,” the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities said in a letter to state school board members.

While the proposal is debated in Hartford, Newtown school officials remain confident that such a dramatic ECS cut will never come to fruition. “I’ve spoken to people, and I think it is safe to say that no one is expecting this to happen,” Superintendent of Schools John Reed said this week.

 “To me things like this just fuel cynicism,” he added

Still, at a recent Newtown Board of Education meeting, Chairman Amy Dent suggested that the board write a letter to the Department of Education opposing the proposed cuts.

If any funding reduction is to take place, it will go into affect for the 2000-2001 school year.

The ECS is the state’s primary grant for local public education, doled out through a need-based formula. Overall, the grant pays for 25percent of all K-12 public education spending in Connecticut.