“Schools are for kids.” With this simple phrase, Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher showed thousands of Connecticut parents that he respects our children’s right to a great education.
Before Judge Moukawsher made this statement last month while giving his ruling on CCJEF v. Rell, it seemed like a lot of people had lost sight of what our kids deserve. Many public schools across Connecticut weren’t getting enough funding from the state, and this pattern had an especially harmful impact on public charter schools like the one my daughter attends.
But now there’s hope for parents like me, who have watched the schools our children love suffer the effects of unfair funding. The CCJEF decision declared Connecticut’s current public school funding formula unconstitutional, and ordered state legislators to create a new system during this legislative session. Attorney General George Jepsen has appealed the court’s ruling but is still asking lawmakers to reform the education system, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has argued that the state doesn’t need a court order to act. As this dialogue about public education in Connecticut continues, our state legislators have a real opportunity to enact change. By seizing this moment, they can finally do right by all of Connecticut’s public school families.
My daughter Ava is currently a third-grader at Amistad Academy in New Haven. Ava loves her school — she’s become much more passionate about learning since starting there, and can’t wait to tell me what happened in class every day when she gets home. Amistad gives kids from different backgrounds and zip codes a first-rate education, so I was shocked to find out that it’s one of the many public schools severely underfunded by Connecticut. And because Ava’s school is a public charter school, it receives even less aid than the district schools our neighbors attend.
Reading Families for Excellent Schools’ recent report, titled “Schools are for Kids” after Judge Moukawsher’s inspiring quote, I realized for the first time just how serious the effects of this imbalance are. Public charter school students like Ava receive an average of $4,000 less per year than district school students, and during the 2014-15 school year this discrepancy cost charter schools across the state $32 million.
Public charter schools like the one Ava attends can’t afford to keep losing this funding. More and more parents are choosing these schools for their kids and trying to get them a seat, but charters can’t keep up with this demand. Charter school leaders are also trying to do more for their students with less money, and it’s stretched their schools’ budgets to a breaking point. Not only have they been unable to meet parent demand, they’ve also had to make harmful budget cuts. Some may not see all of these cuts as a big deal, but for families like mine they have a real impact. An art or music class that gets cut could’ve inspired someone’s daughter to pursue a creative career, and an after-school science program that’s forced to close could’ve changed the life of someone’s son.
Charter schools shouldn’t be forced into this difficult position, and they should be funded fairly. As Judge Moukawsher explained, Connecticut has a duty to put vulnerable students on a level playing field with their peers, and the “Schools are for Kids” report shows that public charter schools are bringing this vision to life. In neighborhoods that are considered “high-needs,” public charters serve more Black and Hispanic students and more low-income students than traditional district schools, and help these kids earn higher scores on important exams — from the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC) in English and Math to the SATs.
Public charter schools have clearly transformed the lives of thousands of students, and the Superior Court has declared that underfunding them — along with every other type of public school—is unconstitutional. Now, it’s up to state legislators to work out a solution that funds all schools fairly. Plenty of positive examples have been set by elected leaders like Governor Malloy, who has always fought for public school families, and like State Representatives Chris Rosario, Charlie Stallworth, and Juan Candelaria, who stood with parents and educators this month at the Capitol as they demanded a fairer system.
If the rest of the General Assembly follows their lead, they can help children at all kinds of public schools, from charter schools to district schools to magnet schools, get the resources they deserve and the support they need to experience long-term success.
Garrett Munroe lives in New Haven. His daughter Ava is in the third grade at Amistad Academy and his son Taylor is in the 10th grade at Amistad High School. He is a member of the New Haven Chapter of Families for Excellent Schools, and his op-ed was sponsored by Families for Excellent Schools as part of its Fight for Fair Funding campaign — click here to tell the legislature that Connecticut’s kids can’t wait.
DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions, or strategies expressed by the author and the sponsor of this op-ed are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of CTNewsJunkie.com.
More State Budget news

Stefanowski Talks Abortion, Employee Raises & Budget In First Press Conference
For a half-hour Wednesday, Bob Stefanowski stood outside the state Capitol and fielded questions on abortion rights and state employee raises in a sign the Republican candidate plans to run a more conventional campaign in this year’s rematch with Gov. Ned Lamont.
Keep reading
Lamont Signs The Budget
Alongside Democratic legislative leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont signed the $24 billion budget adjustment Monday that includes $600 million in tax relief. That’s more than they anticipated they would be able to offer Connecticut residents this Election year because revenue came in higher than expected, but it still creates about an $800 million deficit in 2024. …
Keep reading
ANALYSIS | It’s A Wrap: The Winners and Losers of the 2022 Session
It was a short legislative session, but the House and the Senate were able to move a lot of business this year, including the passage of a $24-billion budget with around $600 million in tax cuts.
Keep reading
Connecticut Acts To Help Its Lead-Poisoned Children
After decades of inertia, Connecticut is finally moving to help its thousands of lead-poisoned children and prevent thousands of other young children from being damaged by the widespread neurotoxin.
Keep reading
Bill Bolstering Contracting Oversight Board In Jeopardy After Lamont Administration Raises Concerns
It passed unanimously in the Senate, but a bill that would give the State Contracting Standards Board greater oversight over state contracting appeared stalled in the House Wednesday on the last day of session. “The governor and I have not talked about the bill,” House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “The commissioners have sent us a…
Keep reading
Senate Approves Tax Cuts, Sends $24B Budget to the Governor
The state Senate gave final approval late Tuesday to a $24 billion election year budget plan that includes around $600 million in tax relief while enabling the state to make an $3.5 billion payment on its unfunded pension debt. Senators voted 24-12 at around 10:30 p.m. to send the midterm budget adjustment to the desk…
Keep reading
House Green-Lights $24B Budget
On a party-line vote early Tuesday, the House passed a $24 billion budget adjustment package containing more than $600 million in tax cuts which Democrats heralded as “historic” and Republicans derided as temporary. Lawmakers voted 95 – 52 at around 12:20 a.m. to send the 673-page budget document to the Senate for consideration before the…
Keep reading
Budget Materials
The General Assembly is preparing to debate adjustments to the $24 billion state budget. Below are a few of the documents we’ve been provided as back-up materials. The budget, HB 5506. Town runs. Car tax impact on municipalities. Finance Committee Power Point.
Keep reading
Lawmakers May Vote for First Pay Increase in 20 Years
With legislative retirements mounting, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were considering Monday raising the salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than two decades and indexing their pay in the future. During a morning press briefing, House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters that funding for pay raises had been…
Keep reading
Amid Surging Revenue, House Prepares to Vote on Budget Adjustments
Connecticut’s House of Representatives was expected to vote Monday on a $24 billion budget adjustment package, buoyed by revised revenue predictions that exceeded expectations by more than $350 million. The revised consensus figures released Monday confirm the surge in revenues that enabled Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative Democrats to reach an agreement last week on…
Keep reading
Dems Detail Budget Deal With $500 Mil in Tax Cuts, Extension of Gas Tax Holiday
Legislative Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced Wednesday the details of a $24.2 billion budget adjustment package, which they say provides around $500 million in tax relief including extending a gas tax holiday until December. Lamont and legislative leaders outlined the agreement during an afternoon press conference in the state Capitol building. Both chambers…
Keep reading
Health Care Workers Call for New Hires
After a record number of health care workers are expected to retire this year, health care staff called on Gov. Ned Lamont to commit to filling 1,000 vacant positions by August 1 of this year. A record 1,137 state workers who notified the state that they will retire this year comes at a moment of…
Keep reading
Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees
The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. The plan, negotiated by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and a coalition of public sector labor unions, provides three years of 2.5% raises and step increases as well as a total of $3,500…
Keep reading
House Advances Labor Deal In Historic Vote
Lawmakers in Connecticut’s House of Representatives signed off on a plan to give state workers a set of raises and bonuses Thursday in a mostly partisan vote on a negotiated labor agreement. The House voted 96 to 52 in support of the deal with 1 Republican, Rep. Tom Delnicki of South Windsor, joining all Democrats…
Keep reading
Republicans Propose Last-Minute Tax Package
Legislative Republicans pitched a $1.2 billion tax relief plan Thursday which reduces state income, sales and gas taxes and proposes to join other states in suing the federal government to challenge restrictions on spending pandemic relief funds. House and Senate Republicans announced the plan during a state Capitol press conference Thursday morning. It cuts the…
Keep reading
The Budget Battle Begins To Take Shape
Tax collections have improved and pushed Connecticut’s budget surplus to $4 billion, but the state budget still relies heavily on federal funding and without it the state would end up running a “sizeable operating deficit.” The Office of Policy and Management told state Comptroller Natalie Braswell Wednesday that if not for the use of the…
Keep reading