Yesterday, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that in order to help the General Assembly pass a budget on time before the legislative session ends June 3, she has offered a second budget proposal. This budget maintains reductions made in her first budget. Governor Rell presented her initial budget to lawmakers on February 4.

Highlights of the Governor’s new proposal:

• Maintains funding levels from Governor’s original budget for the following grants: Education Cost Sharing, Transportation of School Children, Pequot-Mohegan, PILOT State Owned Property, and PILOT Private Colleges and Hospitals grants.
• Removes all general fund appropriations for the Town Aid Road grant in each year of the biennium. However, the Office of Policy Management has said funding for the grant will come from state bonding.
• Reduces the following education grants by 10%: Omnibus Education Grants, Head Start Services, Head Start Enhancement and Special Education. The Governor’s budget notes that additional American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for Title I and Special Education (IDEA) are expected to offset these reductions.
• Reduces funding for private school health and transportation grants by 10%.
• Suspends the Extended School Hours Grant within the Priority School District Grant.
• Suspends all funding for the After School Program.
• Suspends funding for Regional Education Services This would eliminate funding for operating subsidies for the 6 Regional Education Service Centers (RESCs). Funding is used to also help RESCs run the OPEN Choice Program.

If you have any questions, please call Barbara Rua (brua@ccm-ct.org), Gian-Carl Casa (gcasa@ccm-ct.org), or Jim Finley (jfinley@ccm-ct.org) of CCM, at (203) 498-3000.