DEMOCRAT BILL DYSON AND REPUBLICAN JOHN MCKINNEY LAUNCH EDUCATION GROUP CALLING FOR A NEW FORMULA TO FUND ALL CONNECTICUT STUDENTS
– Advocating for a new funding formula to support every child in the state, regardless of where they live
– Key to developing skilled and prepared workforce and supporting students with learning needs
HARTFORD, Conn. (March 13, 2017) – Fix the Formula CT, a bipartisan group of Connecticut residents, today launched a campaign to address how the state funds students and schools to ensure it supports every child in the state, regardless of where they live.
With the support of former elected officials Democrat Bill Dyson and Republican John McKinney, Fix the Formula CT is building a diverse coalition of Connecticut leaders to advocate in favor of a single, inclusive funding formula that provides state funding based on precise student need.
“Education is economic development. Our schools create the skilled and prepared workers of tomorrow, which is essential for keeping jobs in Connecticut and attracting new businesses to the state,” said Fix the Formula co-chairs Bill Dyson and John McKinney in a joint statement. “Moreover, the state’s budgetary climate requires a funding system that helps not hurts the state.”
“As Connecticut works to right its fiscal ship, addressing how we fund public education is essential to improving the accountability, transparency and productivity of our state. The time to act is now.”
Mr. Dyson is a former State Representative and Chair of the Appropriations Committee, while Mr. McKinney is the former Senate Republican Leader who sought his party’s nomination for Governor in 2014.
In Connecticut, the amount of funding a city or town receives per child varies widely not only from one zip code to the next, but even at schools within the same district. Many schools lack the resources they need to provide their students with quality educational opportunities.
“We should never delay the resources our children require to succeed,” said Amy Dowell, Executive Director of Fix the Formula CT and Education Reform Now. “Our children and communities count on a funding formula that is predictable and ensures schools receive state funds on schedule every year. We see the conditions in the legislature to make this promise a reality.”
Fix the Formula CT proposes implementing a formula that includes 1) Core Student Funding: a base instructional amount for all students; 2) Student-Weighted Supplemental Funding: additional funding for students who require greater resources to learn and thrive in school, including students living in poverty, English Language Learners, special education students and gifted and talented students; 3) Equitable Division of Local-State Funding: a reasonable division of education costs between local and state resources based on a community’s ability to fund its schools; and 4) Effective and Timely Implementation: a commitment to fully funding a single formula and an implementation schedule to grant this funding.
Fix the Formula CT is a bipartisan advocacy campaign sponsored by Education Reform Now, a non-profit 501c3 organization. To learn more, please visit Fix the Formula’s website at www.FixtheFormulaCT.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/fixtheformulact, or Twitter at www.twitter.com/fixtheformulact.
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Amy Dowell Executive Director, Fix the Formula CT
amy@edreformnow.org
(917) 288-7929
You can also download the release, here.