Hartford, CT: $52.2M district deficit due to SPED/transportation for out-of-area students
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Students, parents and community members spoke before the Board of Education in Hartford about the upcoming school year's budget gap.
According to school officials, the deficit is driven by special education tuition and door-to-door transportation for students who don’t attend Hartford public schools.
The deficit for the 26-27 school year is $52.2 million and the current one is $22 million.
School leaders like Dr. Andrae Townsel say nothing else can be cut.
"The students are our future,” he said. “The reality is we can no longer balance budgets on the backs of kids. We must make the investment today.
Superintendent Dr. Andrae Townsel and board members have been reaching out to city leaders to try to increase funding.
“I’ve been speaking with state and city leaders, I’m very encouraged very optimistic. My prayer is that the ball bounces in our favor,” he said.
Some students had the chance to speak about what cuts in the past have done to athletic programs at schools in the district. . . .
According to school officials, the deficit is driven by special education tuition and door-to-door transportation for students who don’t attend Hartford Public Schools. Townsel says the district is decreasing the total number of positions based on enrollment decline and decreasing anything funded with one-time grants.
Additionally, the district is planning to increase in-house special education programming to keep students close to home and save on outplacement costs.
The board of education will present its budget to the city council on Wednesday.
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