2002_Annual_Public_School_Finance

Connecticut's Public School Finance System (2001)

The study focused on the effectiveness and efficiency of Connecticut's system for funding public schools in light of the state's legal obligations and policy goals. The committee found one of the strengths of the current system is its general political acceptability. While many at the state and local level are not entirely satisfied with the Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) grant formula or the state's wide array of targeted education aid, the system promotes local control and directs state aid, for the most part, to the types of students everyone agrees have the greatest needs.

The overall aim of the committee's recommendations is to remove distortions that have occurred over time in the ECS formula, establish mechanisms for expert review of the formula's foundation spending level and weighting for student need, require the use of various financial equity measures to assess programmatic and fiscal changes related to legislative and executive actions, and clarify the state's no-supplant provisions.

Ten of the committee's 11 proposals were incorporated into House Bill 5470, which was favorably reported by the program review committee in the 2002 session of the General Assembly. It was sent to the Education Committee where no action was taken. The report's single administrative recommendation, which requires the State Department of Education to make an interactive ECS grant calculation spreadsheet available on its website beginning January 1, 2003, has been implemented by the department.


Summary of Compliance with Committee Recommendations
*Recommendation*	*Status*	*Comment*
Require annual report to legislature containing key performance indicators of resource equity and equal educational opportunity	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Require equalization impact analysis for all bills related to ECS formula	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Create educational cost commission to update foundation to better reflect minimum level required to provide adequate education with the initial report due 1/01/03	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Create educational cost commission to update adjustments for student need to better reflect actual costs of providing added services with the initial report due 1/01/03	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Eliminate the supplemental aid component from the ECS formula by 6/30/03 subject to implementation of cost commission updated need student weights	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Eliminate the regional district bonus component from ECS formula by 6/30/03 and replace with categorical grant	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Phase out all current hold harmless provisions except minimum base aid by 6/30/03; establish new hold harmless beginning FY 03 whereby no town may receive less than ECS grant amount received for fiscal year ending June 30, 2002	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Eliminate the density supplement component from the ECS formula by 6/30/03 and replace with categorical grant	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Beginning FY 04, if the state does not fully fund the ECS grant program, require funds in excess of the amount budgeted for FY 03 to be distributed in proportion to town's share as calculated under the statutory formula amount	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.
Make interactive ECS grant calculation spreadsheet available on education department website	Full	The department implemented this recommendation well before the January 1, 2003 deadline set by the program review committee.
Amend current statutory provisions to clarify intent of supplanting of local funding and establish an enforcement mechanism	None	The bill containing this recommendation did not pass. It died when the Education Committee took no action.