HARTFORD— State Rep. Tony Scott, R-Monroe, voted in favor of an additional $40 million in special education funding Monday to help Connecticut municipalities cover costs through the current fiscal year. However, he warned that this “stopgap” measure falls far short of what’s needed to prevent further financial strain on local property taxpayers.
Before supporting the $40 million measure, Scott and House Republicans introduced an amendment to provide the full $108 million needed to cover special education excess costs statewide.
“This amendment was sadly voted down by Democrats,” Scott said. “That makes me wonder if they truly want to solve the shortfall issue or keep it hanging over our municipalities as an annual negotiation ploy.”
House Republicans had proposed a budget adjustment last April that included $79 million to fully fund the special education Excess Cost Grant for the first time since 2009, according to Scott.
He said Democrats in the legislature ignored the Republican plan, choosing instead to leave the budget unbalanced while allocating $245 million in federal ARPA funds to higher education. Since then, special education costs have only continued to rise.
“There is projected surplus money this fiscal year to fully fund this rising expense, but just throwing more money at the problem isn’t enough,” Scott said. “We need policy changes, such as capping special education tuition costs, a concept proposed my House Republicans and also being studied by the state Department of Education.”
Through the final bill, Monroe is estimated to receive an additional $205,916; Region 9 will receive an additional $131,719 and Trumbull will receive an additional $379,617.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
