by Karla Ciaglo CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education – the largest group organization of elected officials in the state – gathered Wednesday at the Legislative Office Building for their annual “Day on the Hill” to honor School Board Appreciation Month and address pending legislative issues.
The primary focus of the association – aka CABE – was Senate Bill 1459, a proposal to establish a new minimum salary for certified teachers. The proposal would set a minimum teacher salary of $63,450, which is three times the federal poverty level for a family of two, with an initial $600 million in state assistance to help municipalities transition. However, beyond the 2026 fiscal year, additional funding would depend on surplus revenue, raising concerns about sustainability.
CABE officials voiced support for fair teacher compensation but highlighted financial risks in the proposal. CABE President Leonard Lockhart, who also serves on the Windsor school board, acknowledged the bill’s intent but questioned its viability.
“We absolutely believe that teachers should be compensated fairly,” Lockhart said. “However, this bill, while well-intended, does not provide a sustainable long-term funding mechanism. Salaries should continue to be a part of the local education process.”
CABE officials also expressed concerns about unfunded mandates embedded in the bill, including requirements for school boards to cover increased retirement contributions for paraeducators and rising health care costs.
“Boards of Education should not be required to absorb the full employment contribution to the municipal employee retirement system for paraeducators,” Lockhart said. “The requirement that the state reimburse only 50% of the amount paid places a financial burden on districts.”
Special education funding has been a major topic this year in the General Assembly. Recently, Connecticut lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill allocating an additional $40 million for special education through emergency certification. However, after Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed the measure to avoid violating the state’s fiscal guardrails, legislators quickly amended the bill and brought it to another vote. The revised version passed again and was ultimately signed into law.
While the additional funding is set to be distributed, local school boards are still millions of dollars short of the funds needed to cover the full amount of excess special education costs.
Lockhart also pointed to transportation as a major financial burden for school districts, particularly in cases where students are placed in out-of-district special education programs.
“We have 756 students with IEPs in our district, and 35 of them are placed out of district,” he said. “We’re currently spending over $23 million on special education, and transportation for outplaced students alone can exceed $125,000 per student. If we could start work on a state-supported system we would benefit.”
An unidentified board member from a rural district in the audience said his district was small with a minimal tax base and they were looking at a nearly an 8% increase in their budget just to “tread water.” He said the community was probably not going to allow the tax increase.
Lockhart responded, acknowledging the ongoing challenges of school funding and the reliance on local taxation.
“I believe that in the case of cost-sharing, the formula is something that’s going to be looked at,” he said. “I encourage your board, as well as any other board, to advocate for your local tax authority.”
Lockhart said CABE was also monitoring Senate Bill 1458, which proposes changes to the Alliance District program, a state initiative to provide extra funding to low-performing schools. The bill would phase out certain commissioner-run school programs and reduce the number of Alliance Districts from 32 to 15, renaming them Opportunity Districts.
Another bill, House Bill 7168, focuses on teacher recruitment and retention by establishing a tuition assistance program for students in teacher preparation programs at public institutions, along with a scholarship program for teachers pursuing master’s degrees through alternative certification routes. CABE supports the measure, which would allocate $50 million for tuition assistance, believing it will help attract and retain educators by providing necessary financial relief for those entering the profession.
CABE Executive Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy comments during a news briefing on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Credit: Karla Ciaglo / CTNewsJunkie
The discussion also touched on federal education funding, with Lockhart offering reassurance that some of the most concerning possibilities, such as the outright abolition of the US Department of Education, was unlikely to happen.
“In order to abolish the federal Department of Education, you would need 60 votes in the Senate,” Lockhart said. “So that provides a level of comfort that I don’t see 60 people in the current US Senate composition voting to support that.”
But with rumors swirling about a potential 50% workforce reduction at the department, Lockhart cautioned that such cuts could disrupt federal oversight and the distribution of education grants, potentially affecting Connecticut schools.
“We could definitely see reductions in areas such as school breakfast and lunch programs, Title I funding, English learner support programs, and possibly even educational initiatives that promote equity and inclusion,” Lockhart said. “However, special education is protected under federal law, making significant cuts in that area less likely.”
But he also noted that Connecticut contributes more to the federal government than it gets back, raising concerns about how the state would navigate potential shortfalls in education funding. He suggested that short-term discussions should focus on state-level solutions to offset potential federal budget cuts and urged state leaders to be proactive in planning for potential funding challenges
“I’m asking everyone to just be at ease and pause for a moment to see what the full shakeout will be from the federal level,” he said. “We are going to make decisions that are not fear-based and that we’re not going to be reactive. We’re going to be fearless, we will be unmoved, we’re going to continue the good work.”