Issues & Research

EDUCATION COST SHARING GRANT DATA
Connecticut distributes money to school districts through an “Education Cost Sharing” (ECS) grant. The ECS formula is based on the number of students in each school district, weighted by need, and the district’s wealth. These documents provide data on how ECS allocations have changed over time for each school district in Connecticut.

• ECS Budget Change for All Towns, 2008-09
  See the change in each Connecticut town’s ECS total entitlement and per-pupil allocation from FY06-07 to FY08-09.
• ECS Allocations Over Past 12 Years for All Towns, 2008
  See the change in each Connecticut town’s ECS per-pupil allocation from FY96 to FY08, in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms.
• ECS Cap and Stoploss Totals to Date, 2008
  See how total ECS funding has been affected by the ECS Cap and Hold Harmless Provisions, from FY96 to FY07.
• ECS Cumulative Losses and Summary Statistics, 2008
  See how much funding each Connecticut town has lost from the ECS cap, from FY96 to FY07.

ADEQUACY COST STUDY FOR CONNECTICUT
CCJEF commissioned a study by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates (APA) to estimate the cost of an adequate education in Connecticut and give recommendations for reforming the state’s school finance formulas.

• Estimating the Cost of an Adequate Education in Connecticut, June 2005
• CCJEF Summary of APA Adequacy Study and Town-by-Town Results, June 2005
• CCJEF Overview of APA Adequacy Study, October 2006
• CCJEF Framework for School Finance Reform, February 2007
  A policy brief on redesigning the ECS formula based on the APA adequacy study.

POLICY PIECES
CCJEF participates in policy discussions with education stakeholders across Connecticut. These documents present some of CCJEF’s policy work in school finance and reform.

• ECS Cap Policy Brief for Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, April 2004
  A brief detailing inadequacies with the ECS formula, including the cap that limits annual increases in aid and the declining value of the foundation grant, that lead to over-burdened towns and increased funding inequity across the state.
• Hartford Tax Forum Handout, June 27, 2006
  A one-page summary of CCJEF’s tax reform and revenue rebalancing plan to achieve adequate funding of Connecticut schools.
• CCJEF Position Statement on Connecticut High School Reform, October 7, 2008
  CCJEF’s position statement on “The Connecticut Plan: Academic and Personal Success For Every Middle and High School Student,” a state Department of Education blueprint for secondary school reform.