Sen. Jeff Gordon Says ECS Plan Needs Lasting Increase

HARTFORD, CT — State Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-35th District), is calling for "larger and lasting increases" in Connecticut’s Education Cost Sharing funding after the governor’s recent announcement on education aid and the ECS formula.

In a statement released in Hartford, Gordon said he has pushed for stronger ECS support for towns in his district and across the state. He said recent budget proposals did not do much to increase ECS funding, even as school districts continue to face rising costs.

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“I have been a long-time advocate for increased ECS funding, and I have continued to step up to work on it for our communities,” Gordon said. “Over the past several years, I have taken concrete action on this issue.” He said he “helped stop around $7 million in proposed education funding cuts to towns in our district” and “successfully fought to prevent changes to Alliance District designations that could have negatively impacted communities like Vernon and Thompson.”

Gordon said the current base ECS funding level is $11,525 and “has not been increased since 2013.” He said his proposal, Senate Bill 34, would raise that amount to $16,075 “to catch up with inflation and the rise in costs for public school districts.” According to the statement, that proposal was incorporated into a broader Education Committee bill.

He also said it is important that Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal includes his idea to tie annual ECS funding to the Consumer Price Index. Gordon said one-time help in the current fiscal year may offer short-term relief, but does not address the larger issue facing school systems and municipalities.

“We do not need a blue-ribbon task force to tell us what we already know: our public schools need more state support, property taxpayers need relief, and the crazy ECS formula that shortchanges rural towns needs to be fixed,” Gordon said. He added, “If a task force could help break the political log jam around the ECS formula, which pits small towns against cities and suburbs, then that could be of help.”

Gordon framed school aid as both an education issue and an affordability issue. “Without increased and reliable state support for education, the burden falls more and more on local property taxpayers,” he said.

He said he plans to keep pressing for changes to the ECS system. “I remain committed to fighting for better and more fair funding of ECS, for our students, for our schools, and for the taxpayers who support them,” Gordon said. The statement said Gordon continues to work with colleagues, local leaders and stakeholders on policies tied to public education and affordability.