Huntington Herald

Shelton to receive increase in state aid for education

Written by The Huntington Herald
Saturday, 18 February 2012 01:00

As part of his proposal to reform education from early childhood through college, Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced last week an additional $50 million in Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funding to schools, including a 3.4% increase in aid to Shelton Public Schools.

According to a release from Malloy's office, Shelton, which received $4.97 million this year, will see an increase of $170,427.

Nearly $40 million will go to newly-established Alliance Districts, made up of the state's 30 lowest-performing school districts — conditioned upon the districts' implementation of key education reform strategies. An additional $4.5 million in competitive funding will be offered to all districts — with a preference for the 30 Alliance districts, to enable even more ambitious innovations and deeper reforms.

"We have held towns harmless, no one is losing ECS funding — which sends a clear signal to our children that we will make the investment and deliver on our promise of high-quality education for every student in Connecticut," Malloy said.

"I strongly believe that every child in our state deserves the opportunity to get a quality education, regardless of where they live," Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said. "That is why one of our first priorities after taking office was to fully fund the ECS for all towns, and that is why we are making this targeted investment — to give that equal chance to children who happen to attend an under-performing school."

In his Dec. 2011 letter to the leadership of the Connecticut General Assembly, Governor Malloy identified a set of principles and themes to guide the state's education reform efforts in 2012. He addressed school funding, proposing to "deliver more resources, targeted to districts with the greatest need — provided that they embrace key reforms that position our students for success."

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