
Danbury State Representative to Fight for Danbury Charter School Funding
Posted on December 17, 2024
Danbury, CT. – A three-story building in CityCenter Danbury is furnished with desks, smart boards, and cafeteria tables. But no students are attending classes at the newly renovated building as the Danbury Charter School awaits state funding in order to operate.
State Representative Patrick Callahan (R-108), whose district includes Danbury, recently took a tour with officials from Elevate Charter Schools. The site was donated to the organization to run the Danbury Charter School until a nearby Rose Street property is ready for formal operations. The renovations and outfitting of the building have been privately funded.
“There are about 4,000 students and Danbury High School and that building is bursting at the seams. Right now, there’s an influx of students in 4th grade, meaning in two years we’ll need a bigger middle school, and those grades are no longer part of a plan for the yet-to-be build Danbury Career Academy. The Danbury Charter School could ease both problems,” said Callahan.
The former bank building can accommodate about 250 students. The Rose Street site has a building on it that would need to be demolished to make way for a school building that could accommodate hundreds more.
The school remains unfunded, five years after gaining approval from the state Department of Education to operate.
More than 20 charter schools have opened in Connecticut since being allowed by legislation in 1996. Lawmakers changed the approval process in 2015 from one step to two, needing both the State Board of Education to approve the charter and then the legislature to approve the funding.
“There are about 11,000 students currently being served in public charter schools across the state in Bridgeport, Hartford, Manchester, New Haven, New London, Norwich, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury, and Winchester. In the 2023 legislative session, Norwalk was provided funding to open its second charter school and New Haven its seventh. To not also provide funding for Danbury to open its first is discrimination,” said Rep. Rachel Chaleski (R-Danbury). “Not only will this school help to ease overcrowding, its primary goal is to achieve better student outcomes for those who need a different environment. We must keep children at the forefront of this conversation and not lose sight of who we are trying to serve.”
During its 2018 approval, the Danbury community showed overwhelming support for a charter school and then have come before the legislature every year to advocate for this option. Money was initially included in the proposed 2023 state budget, but funding was pulled before a vote of the full legislature.
“Rep. Chaleski introduced an amendment to put money back in the budget and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, I urged our colleagues to support this needed educational option and to listen to the hundreds of people who have testified in support of it year after year,” said Callahan.
State funding for charter schools comes from a different funding stream than the one for traditional public schools and supporters argue the City of Danbury would not lose Education Cost Sharing (ECS) money should the public charter open, in the same way those municipalities do not lose money when a student decides to go to a private school, technical school or vo-ag school.
“Operators of the school told me during the tour that they want to work with the Danbury Board of Education and have that entity run the lottery for the Charter School, similar to the process for students attending the City’s magnet schools,” noted Callahan.
The state’s ECS formula for municipal aid also has a hold harmless provision for Alliance Districts, meaning if Danbury’s enrollment were to decline after full ECS funding is reached, the City would not see a decrease in ECS funding because Alliance Districts’ ECS grants do not decrease. Danbury’s school population has increased each year in recent memory.
“We’re ready to go. We have a wonderful building, a first-rate curriculum, and an experienced, successful operator. With 100% of our operating funds coming from the state, there’s every reason to get this school open for Danbury families in 2025,” said Danbury Charter School Interim Chair Stephen Tracy.
The legislature will convene the 2025 session on January 8th and will be tasked with crafting a new budget. Callahan is hopeful resources will be made available to the Danbury Charter School.
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