Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Education Committee
                          JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
    Bill No.: HB-6618
               AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN FUNDING ISSUES AFFECTING BOARDS
        Title: OF EDUCATION.
 Vote Date: 3/22/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference to Appropriations
   PH Date: 3/17/2021
    File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Education Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
Section 1: The education commissioner may allow a board of education to spend up to 10%
of any increase in alliance district funds over the prior fiscal year in a way that was not
included in the districts alliance district plan, as long as the board (1) spends it for
educational purposes only and not to supplant the local share of education funding and (2)
increases the local education funding share for that FY by the same amount (this would
increase the local boards MBR by the amount the local share is increased)
Section 2: Allows the balance of any unspent federal funds received by boards of education
for COVID-related expenditures (including funds from the federal CARES Act and the
CRRSA) to carry forward to the next fiscal year for FYs 21-23
Section 3: Increases the amount that a regional board of education can put into its reserve
fund for capital and nonrecurring expenditures from 1% to 2% of the annual district budget for
a fiscal year
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Charlene Russell-Tucker, Acting Commissioner, State Department of Education:
Section 1: Allowing districts to utilize any part of their Alliance District allocations for items
"not included in their Alliance District plans" 1) goes against the intent of the Alliance District
program; and 2) would dilute funding meant for those purposes. This shift has the potential to
supplant local operating budgets with state funds and is not in alignment with the statute.
Section 2: Even if passed, this language would not change the requirements of the guiding
federal statute. Districts currently have two CARES programs through COVID-19 relief funds
which extend into school years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Additionally, the newly passed
American Rescue Plan will provide further funding for districts over the next two years.
Section 3: This change would align regional boards of education with local boards of
education, which have a 2% threshold already. The Department is supportive of this change.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Regional School District #12: John Buonaiuto, Treasurer;
Nicole E. Grant, Director of Finance
In 2019, we were pleased to hear that the threshold for the school districts to contribute to
non-lapsing accounts was increased from 1% to 2% of the annual budget. Unfortunately,
regional school districts were not included, and as a result of this mistake we are not afforded
the same opportunity as municipal districts to accrue necessary reserves, which are crucial to
the upkeep of the facilities that serve our children, and are an impactful means to avoid
borrowing in order to control the annual cost of debt service
Amity Regional School District #5: Jennifer P. Byars, Superintendent;
Theresa Lumas, Director of Finance and Administration
As a regional school district, we have long-term obligations of pension costs and OPEB
contributions in our operating budget. Additionally, the annual cost of medical and liability
insurance are other large line items in our operating budget. Capital projects often are
delayed to a later budget year to keep the immediate increase low. Planning for the projects
using funds that become available during a budget cycle from either unforeseen
circumstances or cost-effective measure is a better budgeting method than borrowing.
Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, Inc.: This bill allows boards of education
to carry over any unexpended federal funds received to address the costs associated with the
COVID-19 pandemic. It also allows a regional board of education to deposit up to 2% of the
annual district budget into nonlapsing account. This provision supports fiscal responsibility
and is consistent with the statute allowing local boards of education to carry over funds.
Connecticut Association of School Business Officials: These proposed statutory
changes will assist with efforts to adjust plans and respond to new challenges. The funding
flexibility in this bill is important to plan and execute spending plans for these special
challenges that could go beyond a fiscal year, including but not limited to, supply chain
interruptions, facility upgrades, and other operational restrictions. The changes for regional
school districts were unfortunately overlooked in 2019, but now is the time to fix that.
                                                                           Page 2 of 3 HB-6618
Kate Conetta:
We hope to be financially supported in our goal of promoting teaching as a career path in
order to cultivate more teachers who represent the diversity of our community, Our students
need to see teachers and leaders who look like them and the general assembly has an
opportunity here to build subsidies in to make this a reality for financially-strapped districts.
Matt Conway, Superintendent, Derby Public Schools;
Diane Linderman, Board of Education Chairman, Region 18;
Ian Neviaser, Superintendent of Schools, Region #18 Lyme- Old Lyme Schools
This bill will correct the inequity between municipal school districts and regional school
districts. 2019 legislation allowed municipal districts to increase annual contributions into their
non-lapsing capital reserve account to 2% of their annual budget. Unfortunately, regional
school districts were not included in this change as our ability to contribute to a reserve fund
for capital and nonrecurring expenditures is covered under a different statute. Providing
regional school district, the same the same abilities as our peers who provide educational
services in single municipalities can directly translate to lower borrowing and ultimately less
of a tax burden on the residents.
Mathew Hough, President, Ansonia Federation of Teachers;
Ray Rossomando, Director of Policy, Research, and Government Relations, CEA
Alliance funds are only good for a year. Once the year is up, we fall off the funding cliff.
Allowing districts to carry forward funding or placing additional funds in a non-lapsing, we can
better build for the future, and protect our students for years to come. Additional flexibility
would help Ansonia recover from the tragic layoffs 3 years ago.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
There are no sources of opposition for this bill.
Reported by: Dallas Emerle                                Date: 3/25/2021
                                                                           Page 3 of 3 HB-6618
Statutes affected: 
ED Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference: 10-262j, 10-66ee, 10-17g, 10-266aa
APP Joint Favorable Substitute: 10-262j, 10-17g, 10-266aa
File No. 648: 10-262j, 10-17g, 10-266aa