Llodra Believes ECS Task Force Proposals Would Reduce Newtown’s Reimbursement

By John Voket

First Selectman Pat Llodra said this week that if recommendations being made by a panel created by Governor Dannel P. Malloy to study how public school districts share in state education grant money come to fruition sometime “down the road,” it would likely reduce that level of funding to the town’s school district.

According to a draft list of preliminary recommendations from the Education Cost Sharing Task Force, obtained January 3 by The Associated Press, the 12-member group formed last summer is looking at excluding students living in college dorms and prison inmates from the population counts when calculating a town’s per-capita income.

Since the state-run Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown posted a population of 611 inmates as of July 1, 2011 — although that number fluctuates regularly — excluding those individuals would likely increase the per-capita income.

The panel is also considering other major changes that could affect the level of funding Newtown receives from Hartford, like using more accurate data to determine the town’s wealth and poverty level, and ultimately how much funding the town receives.

Based on those recommendations alone, if adopted, Newtown could lose a measure of its existing state funding, according to the first selectman.

In addition, the ECS task force is recommending eliminating or altering provisions in the current funding program that allow school districts to keep their same level of grant funding even though their per-student share should be decreasing, such as if their poverty rate changes or other factors.

The panel is also examining ways to fund magnet schools across the state, public schools that typically provide a specialized curriculum, more equitably. Currently, magnets in Hartford, the subject of a court ruling, receive more money than those in other cities and towns.

Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor’s senior adviser, said Gov Malloy has promised to fix the formula, which is more than 20 years old and has been criticized as having become too complicated over the years.

There have also been perennial complaints from municipal leaders that the education funds — currently approximately $1.9 billion — are not fairly distributed to districts throughout the state and does not meet its goal of putting rich and poor communities on equal footing.

“Clearly the panel is looking to create an apples to apples approach for funding from community to community,” Mrs Llodra said.

Critics also say the formula also forces towns to rely too heavily on property taxes because the state has never met its 50-50 cost-sharing promise for local education. The formula considers enrollment, poverty, and other factors to determine the state’s share of public school funding for districts.

‘A Promising Start’

Mr Occhiogrosso said the draft list of recommendations to Gov Malloy represents “a promising start” and will ultimately be a key part of Malloy’s education reform efforts, which he has promised will be a major issue in the new session of the General Assembly, which begins in February.

“How you pay for education and making sure that is done in a way that is as fair and equitable as possible is critical to reforming education,” Mr Occhiogrosso said. “As the governor said in his [budget] speech last year, everyone knows this formula is broken. And unless you fix the formula, you can’t really reform education.”

The task force is expected to adopt its interim report to the governor on January 19. The final set of recommendations is due October 1.

Newtown’s first selectman said that since the ECS formula for reimbursement was established, there have been many attempts to fix the formula.

“It’s always been a struggle between towns’ ability to pay, and their willingness to pay [for educational services],” Mrs Llodra said. “But determining that has always been a muddy and difficult process.”

Half of the task force was appointed by Gov Malloy. The members include his budget chief, Benjamin Barnes, former state Education Commissioner Theodore Sergi, and Elsa Nunez, the president of Eastern Connecticut State University. Appointments by legislative leaders include various lawmakers, the executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, a teacher, and a superintendent.

The task force is currently considering a total of 49 possible recommendations, according to the draft. Members recently voted on which ones they preferred over others.

Topping the list was the recommendation to use a more accurate system for calculating a town’s wealth and poverty level. Much of the data currently used are out-of-date, such relying on old census figures.

Mr Occhiogrosso said the group, which has held public hearings on the formula, still has more work and research to do before it makes its final recommendations.

“There are a lot more conversations to be had. And the legislature and other key stakeholders are going to continue to weigh in,” he said. “But this is a promising start.”

No Telling When

Mrs Llodra said while she understands that if enacted, some of the recommendations would reduce Newtown’s reimbursement, she said it is unclear by how much, or how long it would take for that adjustment to take effect.

“My understanding is that based on the recommendations, the change in the reimbursement formula would not generate a positive outcome for Newtown, but those potential changes are way down the road,” she added.

Other preliminary recommendations that received strong support include:

*Setting aside a portion of the funds for competitive grants to reward school districts that pursue State Department of Education priorities;

*Requiring more accountability for poorly performing school districts as a condition for higher funding levels;

*Standardizing how school systems track their spending;

*Making funding “more coherent and predictable” for magnet, charter, and regional vocational-agriculture schools; and

*Establishing a goal for the state to reimburse school districts for the full cost of providing special education services.

(Associated Press reporting was included in this story.)