Conn. report calls for more state school funding

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Policymakers are being urged to make a long-term commitment to increasing the amount Connecticut spends on its major grant for local education.

It's one of the key recommendations included in a new report from the Task Force to Study State Education Funding. It comes days before the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 9 for the new legislative session, when it will hammer out a new two-year state budget.

The task force has spent the past two years examining the state's Education Cost Sharing grant program, special education funding and state contributions to so-called choice programs such as magnet, vocational-technical and vocational-agricultural schools.

State Sen. Andrea Stillman, the panel's co-chairman, said the report recommends the state increase its share of ECS funding while encouraging more streamlining and accountability in other programs.