House GOP Leader Klarides Said Democrats Bear Responsibility for Any Vo-Tech Closures

HARTFORD – The Democrats who voted for the current state budget and willingly ceded authority to Gov. Malloy to make random budget cuts will bear responsibility for any closures within the vocational-technical school system, House Republican Leader Themis Klarides said today. A day after the governor’s office issued directives to state agencies to come up with 10 percent spending cuts, and after the State board of Education indicated it was looking at closing perhaps two schools, Klarides said Democrats have to take responsibility for their actions. “It is the Democratic budget that Democrats voted for and it was the Democrats who willingly ceded greater authority for the Governor to make cuts that they are now talking about. Five weeks before the election they are complaining about a situation that they created,’’ Klarides said. She noted that the legislative Democrats are now engaged in a full-on effort to promote their commitment to increasing manufacturing jobs in the state, and programs they say will expand apprenticeships and enrich the voc-tech system. “The majority party is arguing with itself over who is responsible for Connecticut getting to the point where it may have to close schools that they are championing. We are now hearing Democratic legislators tell the public that it can’t blame them for voting for a budget that very soon will be billions in deficit,’’ Klarides said. The independent Office of Fiscal Analysis this spring projected the next biennial budget to be as much as $2.7 billion in deficit but revised figures will not be known until just one-week after the Nov. 8 elections. Klarides said that the legislative Democrats are trying to convince voters that they are fighting for their best interests during the political season. “You can’t set the house on fire and then try to claim credit for trying to put it out,’’ she said.