Invest Intelligently

Provide an effective and transparent way of funding public education.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

In order to ensure that every Connecticut school and district has the funding it needs to provide an exceptional education for our students, we must build an effective and transparent way of funding public education. Students with the same needs should consistently receive the same level of funding, regardless of the public school they attend.

Connecticut must also reexamine and reallocate grant funds towards specific efforts aimed at improving achievement for low-income students. All school districts must track their expenses using the same categories so that we can compare how funds are spent between districts, and districts should consider sharing or consolidating services to realize cost efficiencies. We should also seek to diversify our funding sources by applying for more federal and private grants to fund our schools.

School funding must be transparent.

Our report recommends that Connecticut:

Redeploy Education Cost Sharing grants to phase in new funding, apply funding to charters and magnets, and allow money to follow the child;
Reallocate categorized grants so that funding supports specific efforts aimed at improving achievement for low-income students;
Revise the process of tracking education expenditures to improve transparency and public accountability;
Encourage school districts to consolidate various operations and share services in order to stretch their dollars; and
Increase efforts to gain federal and private grants to drive excellence in our schools

You can learn more on pages 20-22 of our report.

2014 Policy Progress Report

Our 2014 Policy Progress Report uses a rubric, based on our policy recommendations, to track our state’s progress in effecting the changes needed to narrow Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap. While tremendous progress has been made over the last few years, comparatively little progress was made in 2014. You can read the entire 2014 Policy Progress Report here, or learn about our state’s progress in promoting policies that will allow us to Invest Intelligently below.

5(a) Redeploy Education Cost Sharing Grants

Connecticut receives 0 out of 4 points for redeploying Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funds. The ECS formula was updated for FY 2013-2014. Although it did not use proxies for children with disabilities or other compelling needs, it did use a single, consistently weighted proxy to measure student need: eligibility for Free and Reduced Price Lunch.81 However, the FY 2013 formula was abandoned and replaced in FY 2014-2015 by grants that were allocated on a town-by-town basis.82 The town-by-town allocations were based on the weights in the FY 2013 formula, with exceptions. Connecticut must find a transparent and fair way to fund all public schools. The formula must apply different weights for students with different needs, and funding should follow children to the public schools of their choice. The new formula must be phased in gradually, so that it does not harm public school districts.	5(a) REDEPLOY EDUCATION COST SHARING GRANTS RUBRIC
	0 out of 4 Available Points
		CT phases in a new ECS formula to be fully implemented over 3-5 years.
		The new ECS formula applies consistent levels of weight for different student needs.
		The new ECS formula applies to all public schools, including charters and magnets.
		The new ECS formula has a long-term goal of having “money follow the child”.

1. C.G.S. 10-262f of the 2014 Supplement to the General Statutes.
82. P.A. 14-47, Section 18.

5(b) Reallocate Categorical Funds

Connecticut receives 0 out of 3 points for efforts to reallocate categorical grants. The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) should conduct a comprehensive review of the specific uses of categorical grants and track the efficacy of the uses of these grants. It should then implement a plan to reallocate funds that have been ineffectively used so that they can be spent instead on efforts that are specifically aimed at improving achievement for low-income students.	5(b) REALLOCATE CATEGORICAL FUNDS RUBRIC
	0 out of 3 Available Points
		The CSDE conducts a comprehensive review of the specific uses of categorical grants for education.
		The CSDE tracks data on the efficacy of the uses of categorical grants.
		The CSDE implements a plan for reallocating categorical funds that are ineffectively used towards efforts specifically aimed at improving achievement for low-income students.

42. P.A. 13-184.
43. P.A. 13-247.

5(c) Establish a Statewide Common Chart of Accounts

Connecticut receives 1 out of 3 points for establishing a statewide chart of accounts to track comparable data on per pupil expenditures. In 2012, Connecticut passed legislation requiring the creation and implementation of a uniform chart of accounts (UCOA) by 2014-2015. The purpose is to track education expenditures at the school-, district-, and state-levels. The CSDE is planning to begin phasing in this UCOA in FY 2014-2015 so that it can be fully implemented in 2015-2016.83 However, the current iteration of the UCOA does not include sufficient data to link expenditures to student achievement. Without this associated data, the public cannot easily understand whether the investments being made in education are making a difference in student outcomes.	5(c) ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE COMMON CHART OF ACCOUNTS RUBRIC
	1 out of 3 Available Points
		CT adopts new legislation requiring a statewide common chart of accounts to track comparable data on per-pupil expenditures.
		CT uses the common chart of accounts to compare expenditure data and qualitative data linked to student achievement at the school-, district-, and state- levels.
		CT develops and implements a plan for using the common chart of accounts to review the effectiveness of programs funded.

83. Discussion with CSDE staff on May 22, 2014.

5(d) Find Cost Efficiencies Such as Consolidation and Shared Services

Connecticut receives 1 out of 3 points for encouraging small districts to consolidate and/or share services.84 Legislation passed in 2012 required the CSDE to conduct a study of how small school districts could benefit from shared services. This study was conducted in the 2012-2013 school year. The resulting report explored the demographics of Connecticut’s small school districts, as well as financial incentives and disincentives for efficiency. It concluded that the state should do more to encourage collaboration between districts through competitive grants and other resource offerings. 85 The General Assembly passed two pieces of legislation in 2014 that are designed to make the consolidation of services more feasible for small districts. First, districts have been required to adopt regionally consistent school calendars by 2016; this will make it easier for small districts to consolidate services, such as transportation, because they will be on the same schedule.86 Second, $95,000 has been allocated to costs associated with regionalization for the 2014-2015 school year; this funding will pay for technical assistance, such as legal fees associated with negotiating shared services, to encourage regional cooperation.87 The state’s next steps should be to oversee a pilot program on shared service models and to offer training on the specific benefits of shared services or consolidation.	5(d) FIND COST EFFICIENCIES SUCH AS CONSOLIDATION AND SHARED SERVICES RUBRIC
	1 out of 3 Available Points
		CT commissions a study to demonstrate how districts could benefit from various levels of shared services or consolidation.
		The CSDE oversees a pilot program on shared service models.
		The CSDE offers training on the specific benefits of shared services or consolidation for boards of education and district leaders.

84. P.A. 12-116.
85. Connecticut State Department of Education (n.d.). Report on the Study of Small School Districts: Pursuant to Section 17 of Public Act 12-116. Report on file at CCER.
86. P.A. 14-38.
87. P.A. 14-47.

5(e) Apply for More Federal and Private Grants

Connecticut receives 0 out of 1 available point for improving its applications for federal and private grants. The state should hire an individual with a record of grant-writing success to oversee the application for federal and private grants.	5(e) APPLY FOR MORE FEDERAL AND PRIVATE GRANTS RUBRIC
	0 out of 1 Available Point
		The CSDE contracts with or hires an individual-with a record of grant-writing success—to oversee CT’s application for federal and private education grants.