Teachers may be losing their jobs and state education aid may be dropping, but that doesn’t mean the recession has affected spending on local education.
That’s the conclusion of a New Haven Register editorial. It says “(t)own spending on education jumped $245 million annually between the start of the recession through the 2010-11 school year, according to the state Department of Education. At the same time, state aid to local education dropped more than $400 million annually. The drop in state aid was mainly offset by increased federal aid that rose from 5 percent to 9.1 percent of the amount Connecticut spent on local public school education in the 2011 school year.”
The editorial also points out, “What is astonishing and undoubtedly infuriating to laid-off teachers is that in this period of financial crisis, Connecticut’s spending on education has continued to grow. In 2008, Connecticut spent $9.6 billion on local education. This year, it is expected to spend $9.9 billion. That is either a healthy sign for public education in the state or a warning that education dollars should be managed better and spending growth controlled.”
Read the complete New Haven Register editorial.
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