Malloy Increases Aid For Bridgeport Schools In Proposed Budget

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. – Gov. Dannel Malloy released his proposed state budget for the next two years on Wednesday, which dramatically reduces or outright eliminates Education Cost Sharing grants for some of the wealthiest towns in Fairfield County, while maintaining or increasing aid for some of the larger cities.

Gov. Dannel Malloy's proposed budget for the next two years includes some big changes in how the state provides aid to schools.
Photo Credit: *Jay Polansky, File*

Casey Donahue

02/08/2017 10:30 p.m.

In announcing his budget, Malloy said that the state would use a new formula in deciding how much money municipalities would receive in municipal aid, the majority of which goes toward schools in the form of ECS grants. The new formula would account for the wealth of towns as well as school enrollment, so that smaller and more affluent communities would receive less aid, while larger and less affluent communities would receive more.

Another change is that, in previous years, ECS grants have included money for special education. Under the proposed budget, those special education dollars would come from a separate fund.

Greenwich is the only Connecticut town in the proposed budget that would receive no ECS or special education grants.

Ten Fairfield County towns – Brookfield, Darien, Fairfield, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Sherman, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton – would receive no ECS grants but would still receive special education grants.

Three cities – Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford – would receive more ECS grants than in the previous year, in addition to special education grants.

The remaining nine municipalities in Fairfield County – Bethel, Bridgeport, Easton, Monroe, New Fairfield, Newtown, Redding, Shelton, and Stratford – would receive less money in ECS grants but would still receive some special education grants. Some of these towns would end up receiving more money overall than they did in the previous year.

“I believe that the updated ECS formula in my budget is more equitable, more transparent, and more fair,” Malloy said in his budget remarks. “By considering a given community’s ability to pay, we can adjust to what taxpayers can actually afford.”

Below is a town-by-town breakdown of ECS grant totals for 2017, proposed ECS grant totals for 2018, proposed special education grant totals for 2018, the total proposed school aid for 2018, and the year-to-year difference for every town in Fairfield County:

Bethel

ECS 2017: $8,087,732
ECS 2018: $4,209,487
Special Education 2018: $2,666,383
Total School Aid 2018: $6,875,870
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $1,211,862 (14.9 percent)

Bridgeport

ECS 2017: $181,105,390
ECS 2018: $155,146,948
Special Education 2018: $39,109,458
Total School Aid 2018: $194,256,406
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $13,151,016 (7.2 percent)

Brookfield

ECS 2017: $1,417,583
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $903,182
Total School Aid 2018: $903,182
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $514,401 (36.2 percent)

Danbury

ECS 2017: $31,290,480
ECS 2018: $33,594,209
Special Education 2018: $10,515,687
Total School Aid 2018: $44,109,896
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $12,819,416 (40 percent)

Darien

ECS 2017: $406,683
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $101,525
Total School Aid 2018: $101,525
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $305,158 (75 percent)

Easton

ECS 2017: $177,907
ECS 2018: $14,462
Special Education 2018: $328,098
Total School Aid 2018: $342,560
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $164,653 (92 percent)

Fairfield

ECS 2017: $1,087,165
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $2,140,179
Total School Aid 2018: $2,140,179
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $1,053,014 (96.8 percent)

Greenwich

ECS 2017: $136,859
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $0
Total School Aid 2018: $0
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $136,859 (100 percent)

Monroe

ECS 2017: $6,394,518
ECS 2018: $1,090,703
Special Education 2018: $1,530,266
Total School Aid 2018: $2,620,969
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $3,773,549 (59 percent)

New Canaan

ECS 2017: $339,590
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $116,734
Total School Aid 2018: $116,734
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $222,856 (65.6 percent)

New Fairfield

ECS 2017: $4,338,569
ECS 2018: $543,196
Special Education 2018: $1,236,958
Total School Aid 2018: $1,780,154
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $2,558,415 (58.9 percent)

Newtown

ECS 2017: $4,893,944
ECS 2018: $969,688
Special Education 2018: $2,408,508
Total School Aid 2018: $3,378,196
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $1,515,748 (30.9 percent)

Norwalk

ECS 2017: $11,243,340
ECS 2018: $11,952,439
Special Education 2018: $5,842,488
Total School Aid 2018: $17,794,927
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $6,551,587 (58.2 percent)

Redding

ECS 2017: $180,135
ECS 2018: $16,000
Special Education 2018: $430,780
Total School Aid 2018: $446,780
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $266,645 (148 percent)

Ridgefield

ECS 2017: $571,648
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $532,259
Total School Aid 2018: $532,259
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $39,389 (6.89 percent)

Shelton

ECS 2017: $5,893,771
ECS 2018: $2,104,762
Special Education 2018: $2,637,222
Total School Aid 2018: $4,741,984
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $1,151,787 (19.5 percent)

Sherman

ECS 2017: $46,611
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $96,343
Total School Aid 2018: $96,343
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $49,732 (106.6 percent)

Stamford

ECS 2017: $10,803,759
ECS 2018: $16,246,944
Special Education 2018: $6,381,603
Total School Aid 2018: $22,628,547
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $11,824,788 (109.4 percent)

Stratford

ECS 2017: $21,461,782
ECS 2018: $19,204,491
Special Education 2018: $9,326,861
Total School Aid 2018: $28,531,352
Year-to-Year Difference: Increase by $7,069,570 (32.9 percent)

Trumbull

ECS 2017: $3,418,401
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $2,535,858
Total School Aid 2018: $2,535,858
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $882,543 (25.8 percent)

Weston

ECS 2017: $263,431
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $150,203
Total School Aid 2018: $150,203
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $113,228 (42.98 percent)

Westport

ECS 2017: $465,334
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $198,687
Total School Aid 2018: $198,687
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $266,647 (57.3 percent)

Wilton

ECS 2017: $462,941
ECS 2018: $0
Special Education 2018: $431,204
Total School Aid 2018: $431,204
Year-to-Year Difference: Decrease by $31,737 (6.85 percent)

The Connecticut General Assembly has until the end of its legislative session in June to debate, make adjustments to, and decide on the proposed budget. You can see the complete budget by clicking here.

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