HARTFORD, Conn. — Superintendent Joseph Kobza submitted testimony to the Connecticut Legislature’s Education Committee, which met about Senate Bill 7 (SB7) last week. The bill, An Act Concerning Educational Equity, would increase the Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) foundation beginning in fiscal year 2027, with continued annual adjustments.
As Monroe debates the size of the proposed increase in local funding for its public schools, First Selectman Terry Rooney, Board of Education Chairman Dennis Condon and other town officials have pointed to the lack of money Monroe and other municipalities get back from the state.
The funding formula, which many municipal leaders believe leads to an unfair distribution of ECS funds to districts around the state, has not been changed since 2013.
Kobza shared his testimony with The Sun:
Dear Senator McCrory, Representative Leeper, and members of the Education Committee,
My name is Joe Kobza, and I am the Superintendent of the Monroe Public Schools. I want to begin by thanking you for the work you do to elevate the teaching profession in Connecticut.
I am writing to express my strong support for Senate Bill 7 – An Act Concerning Educational Equity. More specifically, I support any provision that would increase the Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) foundation beginning in FY27, with continued annual adjustments.
In conversations with colleagues across the state, the names of the towns may change, but the story remains the same. State funding for education has not kept pace with the increasingly complex academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and special education needs of our students. At the same time, districts are navigating rising costs in contractual obligations, health insurance, transportation, utilities, technology infrastructure, and out-of-district/special education placements.
The ECS foundation has remained relatively stagnant for more than a decade while these costs have escalated significantly. The practical result is that municipalities are forced to rely more heavily on local property taxes to sustain public education. This places tremendous strain on taxpayers, particularly seniors and families on fixed incomes, and creates budget environments that are often marked by tension rather than collaboration.
Education funding should not be a zero-sum competition at the local level. When the state does not meaningfully adjust the ECS foundation to reflect economic realities, towns like Monroe are left to make difficult choices between educational quality and tax stability. Neither option serves our students or our towns well.
Predictable, inflation-sensitive increases to the ECS foundation would provide districts with stability and allow for thoughtful, long-term planning. It would also reinforce the state’s constitutional responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity to all students.
On behalf of the students, families, and educators of Monroe—and in solidarity with districts across Connecticut—I respectfully urge you to support the provisions of Senate Bill 7.
Thank you for your continued commitment to Connecticut’s public schools.
Sincerely,
Joe Kobza
Superintendent
Monroe Public Schools
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