Malloy overreaches, cuts Groton far too deep
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budgetary proposal to rework the state education cost sharing formula so that it works as intended — directing the aid where it's most needed — is commendable, so too is his goal of trying to drive down development-discouraging high property tax rates in Connecticut’s cities. However, his proposal to dramatically shift state municipal aid from rich communities to poor ones in a single budgetary cycle is unreasonable. And when it comes to Groton, the Malloy policy is downright unfair.
Morally and legally, Connecticut needs to take a heavy dose of politics out of state funding for public education.
Morally, the politically convenient approach of making sure all schools systems are “held harmless” when it comes to allocating state education dollars needs to end. The state can’t afford it. As things stand, state senators and representatives collude to keep the dollars to the towns in their districts flowing, regardless of declining student enrollments, the ability of a town to pay its own way, or the far greater need for assistance in poor, urban centers.
Legally, the state must sooner or later confront Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s ruling last year that in having no objective, apolitical formula for distributing state aid where it is most needed, the state fails to meet its constitutional requirement to provide a public education. Though the ruling is on appeal to the state Supreme Court, the likelihood that the courts will in some fashion require adjustments is high.
Connecticut does have a formula, but the legislature has made so many exceptions and added so many caveats, it is no longer a workable one.
But in proposing a new formula, along with his other policy proposals aimed at boosting state aid for beleaguered cities at the expense of their more affluent neighbors, Malloy pushes to do too much, too fast.
Better-off communities have built their school systems and town services on the assumption that state aid would remain relatively stable. If that aid is suddenly stripped away in multitudes of millions, as Malloy proposes for many towns, it would lead to choices such as eliminating services, reducing hours of operation at libraries and community centers, increasing school class sizes and/or significantly raising taxes.
Perhaps Malloy has proposed this revolution in how the legislature parcels out state aid knowing he would settle for evolution, and a phased-in adjustment in municipal aid. That approach could prove a bit more politically palatable.
The cut in state aid recommended for Groton is outrageous and unreasonable. The governor’s recommended budget shows cumulative municipal aid for Groton dropping from $29.4 million to $16.5 million in the fiscal year starting July 1. That’s a nearly $13 million hit. Add in other changes, and Groton officials say the total cut is $14.1 million.
A couple of factors drive those numbers. One is that the administration’s formula, in measuring low-income need, counts the kids on state Husky Insurance. Because Groton is home to a submarine base, 1,092 of its 4,872 students are the children of military personnel. They don't qualify for Husky because they are covered by military insurance. But if they didn't have that coverage, school officials estimate about 42 percent of them would be low income enough to qualify for Husky.
The other issue is that the town’s affluent sections, such as Groton Long Point, Noank and Mystic, and its healthy industrial and commercial tax base, mask the fact that a large portion of the town is home to low- and middle-income families. Bottom line, the governor’s approach makes Groton appear far wealthier than it is.
On the other hand, Groton needs to change. It has two governments, town and city, multiple police departments and public works operations, numerous fire districts. It’s redundant, bureaucratic and costly. Still, these state aid cuts are too much.
Best case scenario, the legislature adopts a plan to begin shifting more state aid to struggling cities, with safeguards to make sure it is used to cut taxes, not squandered. It then gradually weans better-off municipalities from the big state-aid dollars using a fair education distribution formula.
But in overreaching, Malloy risks seeing his ideas rejected and business as usual resume.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.