Elicker: “Our students need more support — adequate and equitable education funding that keeps up with inflation and ensures quality education, regardless of zip code and municipality.” 

Joins 75+ New Haven Public School student leaders in day of advocacy at the State Capitol

NEW HAVEN, CT – Today, Mayor Justin Elicker provided testimony before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Education Committee in support of S.B. 1511, An Act Concerning Disconnected Youth and joined over 75 New Haven Public School student leaders in a day of advocacy at the State Capitol, urging lawmakers to increase state funding for public education for Connecticut’s students and schools in the upcoming state budget.

S.B. 1511 seeks to advances several recommendations of the bipartisan 119K Commission’s Young People First report, including increasing the state’s per student foundation amount (which has been stagnant since 2013), indexing it for inflation moving forward, and more adequately funding Connecticut’s highest-need students (students with disabilities, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and multilingual learners).

“Education is one of the most important building blocks of opportunity for our young people, and one of our most important levers to affect their lives,” stated Mayor Elicker in his written testimony. “It unlocks future opportunities, job prospects, continued enthusiasm for learning, and long-term wellbeing for our students. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate and equitable education funding has significant impacts as well – with 119,000 young people across the state currently at-risk or disconnected from education or the workforce, and with 10,000 young people adding to that number every year.”

The mayor was joined by New Haven Public School high school student leaders, several of whom also testified before the Education Committee and joined the mayor in commuting up to Hartford via rail this morning. Mayor Elicker (speaker #51), New Haven Board of Education Student Representatives John Carlos Serana Musser (speaker #26) and Jonaily Colón (speaker #17), amongst others, provided in-person testimony before the Education Committee. Mayor Elicker’s in-person testimony before the committee can be viewed here and his submitted written testimony can be read below.

Today’s advocacy builds on ongoing efforts throughout the 2025 state legislative session from municipal leaders, educators, advocates, and public school families highlighting the need for additional education funding from the state.

Over the last decade, the average annual inflation rate has been 2.77 percent, while the state’s per student foundation amount in the Education Cost Sharing formula has remained the same at $11,525 per pupil. In addition, there is currently no added financial weight for students with disabilities with more unique and complex learning needs, and inadequate financial weights for other high-needs student populations.

“Municipalities like New Haven to serve a higher proportion of high-needs students, with 83 percent of our approximately 19,000 students considered high-needs students compared to the state proportion of 55 percent,” stated Mayor Elicker. “Yet, New Haven spends less than the state average per student – $20,451 per student (in 2022-23) while the state average was $21,143 – and not for lack of municipal support. New Haven has increased its local contribution to our school district by 50 percent over the past five years ($45.7 million to $68.8 million), but the average New Haven home’s tax bill has also risen 20 percent over the past few years. Without significant additional state investment, education funding costs will continue to shift onto our residents through increased local property taxes, burdening residents, particularly in municipalities where they are already cost-burdened.”

Specifically, S.B. 1511 and the 119K Commission’s Young People First report include the following recommended changes to the state’s Education Cost Sharing formula:

• Increasing the state’s annual foundation amount by approximately a thousand dollars per student from $11,525 to $12,488 — and indexing the amount for inflation moving forward,

• Providing a financial weight for students with disabilities of 50 percent, which was also proposed by the State Legislature’s Select Committee on Special Education.

• Adjusting the current financial weights for high-needs students: 
• Increasing the weight for economically disadvantaged students, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch (from 30 percent to 40 percent),
• Increasing the weight for concentrated poverty (from 15 percent to 20 percent),
• Increasing the weight for multilingual learners (from 25 percent to 35 percent).

In total, this would amount to a $545 million investment statewide across 160-plus school districts. The increased funding would range from $3,000 to $59 million per district depending on district size and student population – or, on average, an additional $1,120 per student.

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TESTIMONY OF NEW HAVEN MAYOR JUSTIN ELICKER BEFORE EDUCATION COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF S.B. 1511, AN ACT CONCERNING DISCONNECTED YOUTH

Co-Chairs Representative Leeper and Senator McCrory, Vice Chairs Representative Brown and Senator Winfield, Ranking Members Senator Berthel and Representative Zupkus, and distinguished members of the Education Committee, my name is Justin Elicker and I am Mayor of the City of New Haven.

I appreciate the opportunity today to testify in support of S.B. 1511, An Act Concerning Disconnected Youth, and specifically for the 119K Commission and Young People First report recommendations to increase education funding to all districts, and particularly to high-needs districts, through updating Connecticut’s K-12 Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula – adjusting the foundation amount for inflation, increasing weights for our high-needs students (low-income and multilingual learners), and adding a 50 percent weight for our students with disabilities – to ensure more adequate and equitable education funding based on student needs. We also support S.B. 1, An Act Increasing Resources for Students, Schools and Special Education, applauding measures such as the Universal Preschool Trust.

Education is one of the most important building blocks of opportunity for our young people, and one of our most important levers to affect their lives. It unlocks future opportunities, job prospects, continued enthusiasm for learning, and long-term wellbeing for our students. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate and equitable education funding has significant impacts as well – with 119,000 young people across the state currently at-risk or disconnected from education or the workforce, and with 10,000 young people adding to that number every year.

We appreciate the hard work and commitment to our students the state legislature has demonstrated with the recent $40 million in additional Excess Cost Grant funding for special education. And our students need more support. They need adequate and equitable education funding that keeps up with inflation and ensures quality education, regardless of zip code and municipality.

The state’s per student foundation amount of $11,525 per student has not increased in over a decade since 2013, despite average inflation of 2.77 percent and the rising costs of educating our students.

Municipalities like New Haven serve a higher proportion of high-needs students, with 83 percent of our approximately 19,000 students considered high-needs students compared to the state proportion of 55 percent. Yet, New Haven spends less than the state average per student – $20,451 per student (in 2022-23) while the state average was $21,143 – and not for lack of municipal support. New Haven has increased its local contribution to our school district by 50 percent over the past five years ($45.7 million to $68.8 million), but the average New Haven home’s tax bill has also risen 20 percent over the past few years.

Without significant additional state investment, education funding costs will continue to shift onto our residents through increased local property taxes, burdening residents, particularly in municipalities where they are already cost-burdened.

Fifty percent of New Haven residents already spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, while 25 percent are severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing costs (DataHaven, 2023).

Without additional investment, staffing shortages will also continue in our high-needs schools. With $35 million in staffing shortages, we have 26 school librarians for 41 schools, 32 school psychologists for approximately 19,000 students (which would be a caseload of almost 600 students/psychologist), 46 school counselors (413 students/counselor), and 53 social workers (358 students/social worker).

Recently, a bipartisan group of 52 mayors, first selectpersons, and town managers across the state all signed onto an op-ed calling on the governor and state legislature to invest more in our students – they need our investment in their, and our, long-term future now. We urge you to take up the recommendations of the Young People First report and increase education funding for our students.

Thank you for your time and support.

PRESS CONTACT

Lenny Speiller: (203) 725-4249; Lspeiller@newhavenct.gov