May 15, 2013

Rep. Case calls on budgetary support for restoring school transportation funding

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HARTFORD – State Rep. Jay Case, R-Winchester, joined a bipartisan legislative coalition, along with school administrators and municipal officials, on Wednesday to announce their support for restoring school transportation funding into the proposed 2014-15 budget.

Rep. Case, a member of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said even with tough fiscal decisions staring legislators in the eyes, the upcoming biennial spending plan should retain public and non-public school transportation.

“We all know it’s a difficult time and we’ll be making difficult decisions for the budget,” said Rep. Case, who also serves on the General Assembly’s Energy & Technology, Environment, and Human Services committees. “I’ll be fighting for the kids and their safe transportation in this budget.”

The direct cut to education transportation – nearly $28 million per year, according to Wednesday’s coalition – will eliminate state funding to services still required for municipalities and boards of education. Members of the coalition, like Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Executive Director Jim Finely, said the cuts provide yet another “multi-million dollar unfunded mandate on our towns and cities.”

“We work on bare bones right now,” said Leslie Sheldon, operations manager of All-Star Transportation, who also serves as vice president of the Connecticut School Transportation Association. “And the more you take away from the schools, it makes our job harder and harder.”

Under the cuts, non-public schools will see an estimated $2.9 million hit in transportation expenses. The budget replaces the state-provided transportation grant with a $5 million competiveness grant that encourages school districts to regionalize transportation services.

While larger cities like Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven will be hit the hardest, schools represented in the 63rd Assembly District will see major hits, too.

“In my district, we have private, public and regional school districts. All of which have to communicate openly with another to ensure children get to school, and get their safely. By removing the funding these schools receive, there’s a good chance we’ll see all of these different schools and their districts struggle,” Rep. Case said, adding: “They aren’t sure how they’ll make ends meet.”