State Board Of Ed Hears School Funding Concerns
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ With limited money at stake, tensions are rising over how to overhaul Connecticut’s method of sharing local public school costs.
One idea is to reallocate some money to follow students who leave public schools for charter schools. Several local educators and parents blasted the idea at Wednesday’s Connecticut Board of Education meeting.
The board eventually tabled the discussion over its chairman’s objections. He said many of the protests were driven by misplaced fears, and that it was a concept worth exploring for students’ benefit.
Many education officials say Connecticut’s current method of helping municipalities pay for schools is inadequate because it’s never reached the promised 50-50 split. They say it forces towns to lean too heavily on property taxes and exacerbates achievement gaps between rich and poor communities.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)