HARTFORD, Conn. — On Wednesday, Governor Ned Lamont released his budget proposal for the upcoming biennium budget. The proposal for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 includes a scheduled increase in education funding through the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant, but falls short of delivering on the evolving needs of public school students across the state, including those at public charter schools.
The proposal’s continued acceleration of the phase-in of ECS funding represents a promising recognition of the realities schools face, especially in underfunded districts. However, the proposal leaves several important issues unaddressed, including a much-needed increase in per-pupil funding for Connecticut’s public charter school students. Despite serving some of the state’s most challenged districts, our public charter schools remain the lowest-funded public schools per-pupil in our state.
The budget proposal also lacks funding for any of the 7 approved public charter schools that are awaiting the allocations needed to open their doors to students. Each of these schools has demonstrated significant demand and strong support in their communities, including the 5 newly approved charter schools in 4 different communities that received recommendation of the State Department of Education and unanimous approval by the State Board of Education just a few weeks ago.
We look forward to working with the legislature this session to bring these important issues to the forefront and ensure that the pressing needs of students in districts across the state are addressed. We will continue to support our public charter schools in helping the state deliver on its goals of closing achievement gaps and making high-quality education more accessible to all.
The governor’s budget proposal can be read in full here and a video of the budget address can be seen here.
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