FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2022
CONTACT
Jake Lewis
[email protected]
Hartford, CT – Despite what Bob Stefanowski claims, Connecticut’s public schools are some of the best in the country.
Each year, Governor Lamont’s budget makes historic investments in our students and teachers – providing mental health support, upgrading their infrastructure, and funding ECS more than ever in the past decade. Governor Lamont’s education record includes:
Historic funding for K-12 public schools. Between 2018 and 2023, total Education Cost Sharing (ECS) entitlements have increased 12.9%, increasing by $250.5 million. [Education Cost Sharing Entitlements, Accessed 9/6/22]
During the pandemic, Connecticut’s graduation rates remained above the national average of, and in 2020 most student groups achieved the highest graduation rate since 2020. [Office of the Governor, 5/27/22]
The top community college system in America. [Hartford Courant, 8/23/2022]
Connecticut has the second best schools in America, according to WalletHub. [WFSB, 7/25/22]
Connecticut became the first state in America to close the digital divide for K-12 students. During the pandemic, Governor Lamont and members of his administration provided 140,000 laptops and 40,000 internet connections to K-12 students who lacked them, ensuring that every single public school student in the state was equipped to engage in remote learning regardless of family income. Thanks to Governor Lamont’s leadership, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to close the digital divide for K-12 students. [Connecticut Mirror, 12/2/2020]
Created $2 million in new grants to “offset costs for aspiring teachers”, giving a “boost” to teacher preparation programs. [Southern CT State University, 6/3/22]
Established a program to allow full-time students to attend community college debt-free. [Middletown Press, 6/4/19]
Gov. Lamont has made historic investments in Connecticut’s schools. Between 2018 and 2023, total Education Cost Sharing (ECS) entitlements have increased 12.9%, increasing by $250.5 million. [Education Cost Sharing Entitlements, Accessed 9/6/22]
$1.7 billion in federal funding has been made available to schools in Connecticut since the start of the Pandemic. Of that total, $199 million has been allocated specifically to address learning loss for the state’s children. [Connecticut Department of Education, 6/2022]
Gov. Lamont’s 2022 budget included $25 million for infant and toddler funding within the Child Day Care Program. [Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, Budget Summary, 6/17/22]
We closed schools early in the pandemic and were among the fastest to reopen safely in the fall, getting our students back in the classroom for the 2020/21 academic year. [Office of the Governor, 6/25/20]
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