Lamont Creates Education Funding Panel, Promises ‘Substantial’ Funding Boost

by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT — Local school districts could see some relief this year, and more enhancements to come under a plan Gov. Ned Lamont unveiled Thursday. Critics, though, wondered if the plan goes far enough in addressing the school funding needs in the state.

On Thursday, Lamont signed Executive Order 26-3, which establishes a commission to reform the funding streams for Connecticut’s public schools, including the Education Cost Sharing formula.

“Significant increases in investments made in our education system over the past seven years have made Connecticut’s school system one of the best in the country, however there is room to grow to ensure we are maximizing outcomes and support for each student at each school,” Lamont said. “It is about time that we take a bottom-up look at how we fund our schools with a focus on ensuring funding is fair and driving the best results for our students.”

Lamont’s Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Wagner will serve as the commission’s chair and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker was named vice chair.

“We are establishing this commission with clear-eyed objectives and intent to deliver actionable, substantive changes reflecting input from the spectrum of stakeholders,” Wagner said. “Our guiding principles are how we can best partner with towns and school districts to ensure that schools have access to the resources they need to deliver high quality educational opportunities, that resources are being maximized to deliver those opportunities, and that students throughout Connecticut are able to access those opportunities.”

Russell-Tucker said the commission was “an opportunity to engage in a comprehensive, data-informed re-evaluation of our current funding structures, including accountability for ensuring that resources are used effectively to improve the upward trend in academic achievement we are seeing across the state.”

In addition to the commission, Lamont also announced a “substantial” allocation from the state’s $500 million affordability fund, established to offset program cuts at the federal level. He called it a bridge to see local districts through until the commission submits its recommendations next year and later estimated the amount at about $100 million.

Republican reaction to the proposal was guarded, with some concern that the increased funding may not be enough or come soon enough.

FILE PHOTO — Sen. Jeff Gordon, R-Woodstock, discusses House Bill 7062 during a Planning and Development Committee meeting Friday, March 28, 2025, in Hartford. Credit: Jamil Ragland / CTNewsJunkie

“I don’t think it’s anywhere near enough to finish this fiscal year for our towns, but it’s better than zero,” said Sen. Jeff Gordon, R-Woodstock, who serves on the appropriations and education committees. “It’s a lot, but it’s a drop in the bucket.”

Gordon also questioned why towns would need to wait for the commission to report back before seeing any meaningful changes in funding.

“We need to be more ambitious,” he said. “We don’t need a blue ribbon panel. We already know what we need to do.”

State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, the House minority leader, said his caucus would participate in the commission, but worried it was more for show than any real reform.

“I worry this will be more pageantry than progress,” he said. “My concern is that this panel’s mission is so broad that affordability could get lost behind discussions of ‘outcomes’ and ‘equity,’ turning the whole thing into an academic exercise that makes our school funding system even more complex than the failed ECS formula we have now.”

He added that protecting taxpayers must remain a priority.

“We’re happy to engage in this process, but the people who pay for public education have to be an equal priority, and this commission has to stay focused enough to actually move the ball forward,” he said.