Connecticut Legislative Session Opens: Education Reform Means More Programs, Funding

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called on state lawmakers Wednesday to help him create an economic revival in Connecticut, creating more jobs and overhauling the state's public school system, including teacher tenure.

A little more than a year after taking office amid a massive $3.5 billion budget deficit, Malloy touted the accomplishments of his freshman administration, proclaiming the state has "passed through the crucible of that crisis" because he and state lawmakers have "brought positive, far-reaching, meaningful, and systematic change to Hartford" over the past year.

"Yes, it has been a long 13 months. But a state that was on its knees has stood up and said, `Enough is enough – we're ready to change our future,'" Malloy told lawmakers on the opening day of the 2012 session of the General Assembly. "Yes, we have a long way to go, but a state that was at the crossroads of crisis and opportunity is beginning to turn a corner because we chose opportunity."

Malloy unveiled his proposed revisions to the second year of his two-year, $40.1 billion budget passed last year. While the revised one-year $20 billion plan for the 2012-13 fiscal year does not increase any more taxes, it spends $329 million more than originally budgeted – a 1.6 percent increase. Malloy's budget director, Benjamin Barnes, said much of that increase is covered by a surplus included in the original budget, as well as reductions in funding to medical programs for low-income residents due to eligibility changes.

There are also other cuts spread throughout state government.

Malloy said the state must maintain fiscal discipline and continue job creation efforts. But the hallmark of Malloy's second term is expected to be his plan to overhaul the state's public schools. He has called for spending an additional $128 million on various education proposals, such as funding 500 new early childhood education seats, targeting additional funding to problem schools and requiring they embrace key reforms, and having the state serve as a temporary trustee of public schools with the worst legacies of achievement.

He is also proposing revamp teacher tenure practices, acknowledging the proposal could damage his relationship with teachers. His plan would require teachers to earn and re-earn tenure by "meeting certain objective performance standards, including student performance, school performance and parent and peer reviews."

To earn tenure, Malloy said that job security is "too easy to get and too hard to take away."

Malloy also wants to overhaul teacher preparation programs and invest in-on the-job training for teachers.

"I'm pro-teacher, as long as that doesn't mean defending the status quo, and I'm pro-reform, as long as that isn't simply an excuse to bash teachers," he said.

Both Democrats and Republicans alike applauded Malloy's efforts to improve schools in Connecticut, which has one of the worst gaps in achievement between rich and poor school districts in the country. Lawmakers have predicted there will be bipartisan support for some reforms, but others could face challenges during the three-month-long session.

Malloy urged lawmakers to work together with him on a bipartisan basis, as they did last fall when they came up with a jobs package.

"I say that if we work together – all of us – we can make an economic revival a reality," he said.

Comments

[am10]

11:59 AM on 02/09/2012

HP you didn't include that the package calls for a $150 increase per students of inner city schools while the state's 6,000 charter school students will receive of an increase of $2,400 per student.

[Lindytindy]

10:33 AM on 02/09/2012

No, see this is just doing the same thing that doesn't work over and over again. More money will not change anything. It's fundamentally flawed, it needs restructuring more programs. The Walden Schools, the most successful in the country, use pen and paper. Not computers. The problems could be fixed with less money, more intelligence and less politics. Look at what is successful and do it, it's that simple. But it won't happen because education is a political football, corrupt and ineptly managed like everything else in our collapsing civilization.

[tsgrcels]

10:20 AM on 02/09/2012

Throwing money at education does not work and will not work until we get the unions out of the classrooms. We have the most expensive public education systems in the world and the results, as compared to the results of the students in other parts of the world, are mediocre.

Cutting education funding might make the school systems fire some of the administrators. Cutting the union work rule strings would make it easier to get the bad teachers out of the classrooms instead of putting them into "rubber rooms" where they draw full salaries for doing nothing. Make pay based on merit and not tenure. Reward the good teachers. End the "last in/first out" rules that require the younger teachers who may be better teachers to lose their jobs first when downsizing is needed while retaining longer on the job and older incompetent teachers keep theirs.

There are many things that can be done to improve the quality of education our schools provide, but the unions stand in the way of getting those things done. Fire the unions.

But, the most important thing that needs to be done is change the parents and students attitudes toward education. If students have the right attitude and want to learn, they will. If parents put a value on education and got involved with their children’s education, results would soar without an additional dime being spent.

[am10]

12:01 PM on 02/09/2012

Agree with the last paragraph. You're way off on the union though. Merit pay has been tried and failed. Tenured teachers can be fired - an administrator just has to do the work; tenure is there to protect teachers from vindictive parents and cheap school boards.

[changing]

10:56 PM on 02/08/2012

Another attack on teachers and public education. Is this all these clowns have to do?