“We applaud Governor Lamont for recognizing that our state’s nearly 11,000 mostly Black and brown charter school students have been drastically underfunded and for taking action to begin to address that funding gap.
The Governor’s proposed budget takes an important first step in addressing this inequity by raising the charter school per-pupil to the foundation amount, the minimum wage for what Connecticut has determined it takes to educate a child. However, to achieve real equity, we must build upon this step. We must enact a single, unified funding formula that serves all public school students and schools their families choose for them, including public charter schools.
Additionally, we must invest in nationally recognized high-quality schools that have a track record of reducing achievement gaps and are ready and willing to serve, like Danbury Prospect and Stamford Excellence.
All of our state’s children deserve equitable funding and treatment. We look forward to working with community members and lawmakers to break down barriers for all students this session. Even when faced with a pandemic, we continued to build community across Connecticut because we knew urgent, collective action was needed to close the racial funding gap in our education system. It will take all of us to address the systemic inequities long present in our communities,” said Ruben Felipe, Executive Director of the Connecticut Charter Schools Association.
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About the Connecticut Charter Schools Association: The Connecticut Charter Schools Association is a nonprofit membership organization that serves as a unified voice for the 21 public charter schools, representing their interests at the state and local levels. To learn more, click here.