Bridgeport’s school district could bring back positions eliminated during last year’s budget cuts, according to Royce Avery, the interim superintendent. Avery says the jobs could be reinstated thanks to millions in extra city and state funding.
“We're looking at the librarians; back into the schools,” Avery said.
Avery made the announcement Monday near Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet Campus in Bridgeport. Avery along with several state lawmakers and school officials praised the funding, which they said could help prevent further cuts.
However, Avery said that could only happen after the schools determined the additional funds would be able to close the city’s budget gap.
While the schools have yet to say what programs would be impacted by the extra funding, state officials like State Rep. Antonio Felipe echoed Avery’s comments.
“We know we need to bring librarians back,” Felipe said. “We know we need to bring social workers back into our schools.”
The district is receiving $12 million from the city and $25 million from the state.
The state uses the Education Cost Sharing formula (ECS), to calculate how much funding schools would get from the state budget. Bridgeport city officials have long complained that ECS is out of date, failing to keep up with inflation.
While many applauded the funds, others like the city’s board of education chair, Jennifer Perez said the funding only does so much. Nearly 89% of Bridgeport’s student body for the 2025-2026 academic year, qualifies for free or reduced-price meals.
Bridgeport has more special education students and English language learners who need specialized services compared to the state average, which require more funding.
Perez said the funding helps but won’t turn around the district’s fortunes.
“We know that this is just a start,” Perez said. “Even with the increase, our district continues to face significant challenges.”
While advocates called on updating the cost formula to better fund the schools, State Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, said doing so would be a long-term goal.
Gadkar-Wilcox referenced Gov.Ned Lamont’s executive order creating the Blue-Ribbon Commission which will eventually create a plan to fund schools more equitably.
“What we need to do is increase that amount and then, index it to inflation so that we don’t keep coming to a short fall every ten years or so,” Gadkar-Wilcox said.
