Connecticut’s legislators are reacting with relief – and some with frustration – following the Trump administration’s decision to release nearly $7 billion in frozen funding for K-12 school programs.
Connecticut districts learned on June 30 that the funding, which was approved by Congress, was being put under review "to ensure grants align with President Donald Trump’s priorities." The sum included over $53 million for Connecticut school districts that would have been available July 1.
State Rep. Jennifer Leeper (D-Fairfield) is co-chair of Connecticut’s Education Committee. The freeze put school districts in a difficult position, she said, by introducing “chaos and pointless anxiety” into the system before the beginning of the school year.
“If you aren't certain how much money you're receiving, you're scrambling to figure out where you're going to make up those funds, which positions you're going to have to cut,” Leeper said. “And they're very often the positions that are there to support our students who need the extra support the most.”
That funding covers support for students who may have disabilities, or are multilingual learners, she said. Disconnected youth, which are students who are at risk of leaving school, or have left already, would have also been affected, she said.
Republican leadership in the General Assembly also welcomed the release of the funding, but praised the federal scrutiny.
“Republicans applaud a president willing to ask tough questions: How are these dollars being spent? Do they actually serve our students well?” said House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) and State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus (R-Prospect), a ranking member on the Education Committee.
“Democrats, meanwhile, see only another chance to grandstand. They've shown little interest in accountability — just in generating outrage, press releases and claiming phony victories that will do nothing to improve student performance,” they said in a statement.
Many towns affected, with cities hardest hit
The vast majority of Connecticut’s cities and towns have been affected by the funding freeze, according to a report by the School and State Finance Project, a nonpartisan research nonprofit.
“These resources are essential to sustaining the programs and services on which our districts rely to support students," the Connecticut Department of Education said in a statement, adding that in an official notice, the U.S. Department of Education said it would begin releasing funds the week of July 28. The state agency said it “will share additional details with superintendents and grantees as they become available.”
According to the report, only a handful of municipalities were not affected by the freeze.
The most money was withheld from school districts in Connecticut’s largest cities, including Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport, which stood to each lose about $3 million.
Half the states, including Connecticut, sued the Trump administration in mid-July over the money freeze. The lawsuit argues the administration is “required by federal law to support financially,” programs for English learners, children of migratory workers and programs that improve instruction and technology in the classroom.
The move also garnered major pushback from Congress members from both sides of the aisle, including separate letters from several U.S. House members, and 10 Republican U.S. Senators, both urging the Trump administration to restore the billions in funding.
State Sen. Doug McCrory (D-Hartford) who co-chairs the Education Committee, was also relieved by the reversal. He said underfunded school systems, such as Hartford’s, would have been “devastated” by the extra loss.
“They already have difficulty attracting people in filling positions in the school system, the fact that they were going to have cuts, made that much more dangerous,” McCrory said.
