Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funds have been kept flat since Governor Malloy took office, causing most districts to now be severely underfunded. In fact, resources for traditional neighborhood schools increased by less than 8% since Fiscal Year 2009, while funding for schools operated by charter management organizations (CMOs) have grown by 124% during the same time period.

In heated state budget negotiations the governor has made it a priority to include $4.6 million in funding for two new schools operated by CMOs.

It is critical that he knows parents and educators support the Appropriations Committee's plan to reallocate the $4.6 million instead to our traditional public schools. Preferential treatment for schools that serve only a fraction of students greatly undermines our state’s ability to provide an outstanding public education for all.