February 28, 2019

Public Hearing on Forced School Regionalization Friday 3/1

This article was archived from the previous WordPress site. Formatting and media should be close, but may not match the original post perfectly.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Many constituents have communicated concerns over legislative proposals to force smaller school districts to regionalize into much larger ones. On Friday, March 1st at 1:00 in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building, the Education Committee will be holding a public hearing on this topic. The legislative proposals being heard are:

Senate Bill 457 AN ACT CONCERNING THE SIZE OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Requires any school district with a student population of fewer than two thousand students to join a new or an existing regional school district until that district equals two thousand or more.

Senate Bill 738 AN ACT CONCERNING THE CREATION OF REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Requires towns to join state-created regional school districts similar in size to the state’s Probate Districts.

Governor’s Bill SB 874 AN ACT CONCERNING EDUCATION INITIATIVES AND SERVICES IN CONNECTICUT

Creates a state Commission on Shared School Services for the purpose of developing a statewide plan for the redistricting or consolidation of school services and school districts.

If passed, these forced-regionalization bills could negatively affect the quality of education in our communities and may not deliver promised cost savings. The concept of state-forced regionalization is supported by the Senate President, Martin Looney, and the Senate Majority Leader, Bob Duff. Governor Lamont supports forming a commission that would create a statewide plan for forced regionalization and penalize school districts that don’t participate. Top-down plans created by Hartford politicians that punish districts are counterproductive.

I believe decisions involving regionalization of education and school services should be made locally on voluntarily basis where taxpayers, parents, teachers and school administrators can make the best decision for their students.

Whether you support these ideas or not, I would encourage you to make your voice heard.

Here is how you can testify in person:

This is anticipated to be a long hearing, so plan accordingly if you are attending.

You can also watch the hearing at home at www.ct-n.com .

As always, I am here for you, feel free to reach out to my office Tami.Zawistowski@housegop.ct.gov or (860) 240-8700 to share your thoughts, questions and concerns about state government.

Sincerely,

Tami Zawistowski – 61st District