Malloy Proposes Steep Education Cuts: How Will Monroe Be Affected?

MONROE, CT — Gov. Dannel Malloy’s new municipal aid plan will eliminate the education cost-sharing grant to 85 municipalities, reduce it to 54 others that have a greater reliance on state funding and hold the state’s poorest communities at recent levels. About 30 of the neediest communities, according to Malloy, which include Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, New London and Waterbury, wouldn’t see any reductions in education aid.

“This has never been my preferred path,” Malloy said Friday. “I have proposed full balanced budgets and also short-term solutions that would alleviate some of this pain. It is incumbent upon state leaders to come together and reach an agreement on a biennial budget right away.”

Monroe would lose $6,394,518 in ECS funding, according to Malloy's plan.

Many school systems would take massive hits. Stratford would lose all of its $21.46 million under the plan, Milford $10.8 million, Wallingford would lose about $19 million. See end of article for a full breakdown of towns and how much you’d lose in state education funding.

State legislators are still wrestling with passing a state budget. State finances have been operating under an executive order since the fiscal year started July 1.

The first fiscal year 2018 payments will be released in October under Malloy’s plan, although plans and funding levels can change if the legislator passes its budget before then.

The state is still projecting a multi-year $3.5 billion budget deficit. (To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts from more than 100 Connecticut communities click here.)

The lack of a state budget has caused anxiety across school systems in the state and many have delayed hiring decisions until they find out their funding levels.

A total of $1.46 billion in ECS grants will be given to communities. The 30 Alliance Districts will get a grant equal to the fiscal year 2017 level.

“In the absence of an adopted budget from the General Assembly, my administration is reallocating resources to pay for basic human services, education in our most challenged school districts, and the basic operation of government,” Malloy said.

Malloy’s updated action also will restore $40 million to private nonprofit health and human service providers.

The revised plan and municipal aid estimates will be the basis for fiscal year 2018 in the event a state budget isn’t enacted. It is intended to provide some certainty about funding levels until a budget is adopted, Malloy said.

Municipal revenue sharing grants will be made only to municipalities for a tax loss resulting from the 37 mill rate cap on motor vehicle property taxes. No grants for addition payment in lieu of tax grants or revenue sharing grants will be made from municipal revenue sharing.

Below is a full breakdown of ECS funding loss under Malloy's plan

• Andover: $1,864,948
• Ansonia: $0
• Ashford: $2,701,695
• Avon: $731,456
• Barkhamsted: $1,633,686
• Beacon Falls: $4,067,920
• Berlin: $6,215,712
• Bethany: $2,000,209
• Bethel: $8,087,732
• Bethlehem: $1,278,838
• Bloomfield: $0
• Bolton: $2,685,015
• Bozrah: $979,064
• Branford: $2,211,848
• Bridgeport: $0
• Bridgewater: $23,014
• Bristol: $0
• Brookfield: $1,417,583
• Brooklyn: $2,790,149
• Burlington: $4,359,350
• Canaan: $177,216
• Canterbury: $1,866,243
• Canton: $3,403,900
• Chaplin: $928,496
• Cheshire: $8,492,999
• Chester: $659,216
• Clinton: $6,326,998
• Colchester: $9,452,317
• Colebrook: $491,388
• Columbia: $1,766,423
• Cornwall: $6,976
• Coventry: $7,004,932
• Cromwell: $4,646,922
• Danbury: $0
• Darien: $406,683
• Deep River: $1,675,092
• Derby: $0
• Durham: $3,895,303
• East Granby: $1,439,845
• East Haddam: $3,317,521
• East Hampton: $6,031,194
• East Hartford: $0
• East Haven: $0
• East Lyme: $6,918,462
• East Windsor: $0
• Eastford: $764,317
• Easton: $177,907
• Ellington: $7,747,548
• Enfield: $20,009,507
• Essex: $105,052
• Fairfield: $1,087,165
• Farmington: $1,095,080
• Franklin: $738,622
• Glastonbury: $6,654,380
• Goshen: $82,025
• Granby: $5,510,220
• Greenwich: $136,859
• Griswold: $4,310,307
• Groton: $17,528,032
• Guilford: $2,740,394
• Haddam: $1,971,482
• Hamden: $0
• Hampton: $918,668
• Hartford: $0
• Hartland: $929,356
• Harwinton: $2,708,774
• Hebron: $6,187,611
• Kent: $25,634
• Killingly: $0
• Killingworth: $2,173,420
• Lebanon: $3,787,283
• Ledyard: $5,988,692
• Lisbon: $1,759,358
• Litchfield: $1,446,598
• Lyme: $63,069
• Madison: $446,496
• Manchester: $0
• Mansfield: $3,978,964
• Marlborough: $3,154,015
• Meriden: $0
• Middlebury: $855,086
• Middlefield: $2,099,315
• Middletown: $0
• Milford: $10,849,101
• Monroe: $6,394,518
• Montville: $6,294,811
• Morris: $102,178
• Naugatuck: $0
• New Britain: $0
• New Canaan: $339,590
• New Fairfield: $4,338,569
• New Hartford: $3,113,169
• New Haven: $0
• New London: $0
• New Milford: $10,649,525
• Newington: $11,685,425
• Newtown: $4,893,944
• Norfolk: $25,815
• North Branford: $7,269,098
• North Canaan: $1,635,394
• North Haven: $3,842,088
• North Stonington: $2,267,576
• Norwalk: $0
• Norwich: $0
• Old Lyme: $247,462
• Old Saybrook: $122,907
• Orange: $1,509,226
• Oxford: $4,528,763
• Plainfield: $6,145,778
• Plainville: $8,217,758
• Plymouth: $9,761,632
• Pomfret: $1,536,508
• Portland: $4,363,751
• Preston: $1,506,009
• Prospect: $5,297,609
• Putnam: $0
• Redding: $180,135
• Ridgefield: $571,648
• Rocky Hill: $4,250,230
• Roxbury: $33,612
• Salem: $2,134,520
• Salisbury: $10,871
• Scotland: $996,101
• Seymour: $8,032,790
• Sharon: $9,960
• Shelton: $5,893,771
• Sherman: $46,611
• Simsbury: $6,087,799
• Somers: $2,964,727
• South Windsor: $12,826,469
• Southbury: $3,458,266
• Southington: $20,268,059
• Sprague: $1,044,909
• Stafford: $7,832,392
• Stamford: $0
• Sterling: $1,598,108
• Stonington: $1,649,159
• Stratford: $21,461,782
• Suffield: $4,354,802
• Thomaston: $3,937,371
• Thompson: $3,013,882
• Tolland: $8,559,342
• Torrington: $19,586,292
• Trumbull: $3,418,401
• Union: $237,166
• Vernon: $0
• Voluntown: $1,001,048
• Wallingford: $19,171,370
• Warren: $33,205
• Washington: $50,646
• Waterbury: $0
• Waterford: $321,279
• Watertown: $9,402,540
• West Hartford: $20,961,352
• West Haven: $0
• Westbrook: $70,393
• Weston: $263,431
• Westport: $465,334
• Wethersfield: $9,348,852
• Willington: $2,546,013
• Wilton: $462,941
• Winchester: $0
• Windham: $0
• Windsor: $0
• Windsor Locks: $0
• Wolcott: $6,711,788
• Woodbridge: $656,185
• Woodbury: $1,276,811
• Woodstock: $3,749,579

Image via MTA/Flickr Commons