Preliminary Analysis of Governor Malloys Biennial Budget Proposal

February 18, 2015

OnFebruary18,2015,GovernorMalloyreleasedhisbiennialbudgetproposal,includinghisproposedbudgetforeducationforfiscalyear2016and2017(FY16andFY17).The
proposalshowsGovernorMalloyscontinuedcommitmenttoimprovingeducationbyprovidingadditionalfundingtoexpandhighqualityoptionsandmaintainingfundingforother
criticalimprovementefforts.Thegovernorsproposedbudgetfallsshort,however,oftheboldchangeneededtoimproveoutcomesandopportunitiesforthe40,000childrenwho
currentlyattendchronicallylowperformingschools.1Itreducesfundstoprogramsthatserveourhighestneedschoolsanddistricts,suchastheCommissionersNetworkcreates
onlylimitednewschooloptions,anddoesnotaddressthelargerproblemoffixingourbrokensystemofschoolfinance.
KeypointsfromtheGovernorsProposedEducation
Budgetinclude:

FlatFundingfortheEducationCostSharing(ECS)GrantandAllianceDistrictprograms
:ThestateisnolongerfollowingtheECSformula.IntheGovernorproposal,districts
wouldreceiveflatfundinglevelsbasedonamountsthattheyhavereceivedpreviouslyviatheECSlineitemandAllianceDistrictprogramforthe30lowestperformingdistricts.
Increasing Access to High Quality Public School Options:
Per-pupil funding for charter schools remains flat and lower than most traditional schools (at $11,000) because the
budget
does not include a per-pupil funding increase for charter school students
. FY16 funding for
charter schools
includes an additional $12 million for 1,250 new seats and
$7.9 million in FY17 for an additional 612 seats at charter schools, according to the Governors introductory budget documents. The Department of Education Budget Summary
also includes a $2 million increase to expand grades at state charter schools. These increased funds cover approved growth at existing state charter schools. This analysis may
change once the state releases more information because funding for state charter schools and local charter school start-up is included in the Education Equalization Grants (ECS)
line item (which is not broken down in the currently available documents).
Proposed FY16 funding for
magnet schools
increases significantly, with a 12% increase equalling nearly $36 million and a slight decrease for FY17. Conversely, FY16 funding for
the
Sheff Settlement
decreases significantly by approximately $9 million (or 43%), and increases only slightly from FY16 to FY17. Proposed FY16 funding for the
Open Choice
program increases by $680,000 (nearly 2%) from FY15 to FY16, and further increases by an additional $5 million from FY16 to FY17.
Intervening in the Lowest Performing Schools and Districts:
Funding for
Commissioners Network
schools in FY16 decreases by about 27%. The Governors proposal
reduces Commissioners Network funding from $17.5 million in FY15 to about $13 million for each year of the FY16-17 biennium. We await further detail on how this impacts the
number of schools that will participate in the program. Proposed funding must be accompanied by legislative changes to strengthen the Network.
Starting Early with High Quality Early Childhood Education:
The Governor proposed a modest 6% decrease in
early childhood program
funding. Funding is decreased to
$10.6 million for each year of the biennium. Proposed funding for the
K-3 Reading Assessment Pilot
is reduced by about 14% to $2.6 million for each year of the biennium.
However,
School Readiness
funding increases by more than $3 million (or 4%) in FY16 and remains the same for FY17.
Supporting Great Teachers, Principals, and Leaders:
The Governor proposed a slight increase of less than 1% (about $34,000) from FY15 to FY16 for
Talent Development
, to
supports efforts to implement the states teacher and principal evaluation program. Similarly, the FY17 budget proposes only a slight increase from FY16 of about $7,500.
Raising Standards, Accountability, and Transparency:
Proposed funding for
Common Core
implementation remains the same as FY15 at just under $6 million, with no dollar
increase in either FY16 or FY17.

ConnCAN.
ACrisisWeCanSolve:ConnecticutsFailingSchoolsandTheirImpact.
Nov.2014.
http://www.conncan.org/mediaroom/201411connecticuteducationincrisis40000childrentrapp

Preliminary Education Budget Summary for FY16 and FY17 -

February 18, 2015

Notes:
1. Based on FY15 revised budget and latest
rescissions (See OFA Analysis of
Rescissions
, Jan. 22, 2015).
2. As of FY13, the Charter Schools line item
was included within the Education
Equalization Grants (ECS) line. In this
proposal, the line item includes both state
charter school funding and local charter
start-up funding. For this reason, the total
ECS grant amount does not match the total
amount proposed for the line item.
3. Includes School Readiness Quality
Enhancement and School Readiness.
4. Includes Head Start Services, Head Start
Enhancement, and Head Start - Early
Childhood Link. The only line item with
proposed funding for FY16 and FY17 is
Head Start Services.
5. In prior years (FY14 and FY15), the New
or Replicated Schools line item was
specified for local charter school funding.
The current proposal does not specify as
such.

Sources:
Conn. Office of Fiscal Analysis. Conn. State Budget: FY15 Revisions. Oct. 15, 2014.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa/Documents/year/BB/2015BB-2014101
5_FY%2015%20Connecticut%20Budget%20Revisions.pdf
; Conn. Office of Fiscal Analysis. Analysis of January 22, 2015 Governor's FY15 Rescissions. Feb. 3, 2015.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa/Documents/year/BB/2015BB-20141015_FY%2015%20Connecticut%20Budget%20Revisions.pdf
; Conn. Office of Policy and Management. Conn. FY16 - FY17 Biennium.
Governors Budget Summary. Feb. 18, 2015.
http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2958&Q=560960&PM=1