HARTFORD — Lawmakers today unveiled a huge spending bill that includes millions of dollars for state universities, nonprofits, and child care.
The money will come from unused federal coronavirus relief funds, which must be allocated by December 2024.
The bill includes an additional $80 million for the Connecticut State University System. Universities have been warning for months that an impending $131 million decrease in state funding for fiscal year 2025 would severely impact their programs, largely due to a decrease in federal coronavirus funds.
In November, state universities announced plans to cut spending and increase revenue in the face of upcoming shortages. The plan included everything from adding online courses to reducing the number of adjunct faculty and teaching assistants working at the university. This proposal met with fierce opposition from professors and students.
In February, CSCU Chancellor Terrence Chen told Congress that cost cuts had reduced next year's projected deficit by more than $100 million, but the state would still need $47.6 million if it wanted to avoid large-scale layoffs. Ta.
“This proposed additional funding, including the recently passed agreement with SEBAC for wage resumption in 2024-2025, will help CSCU address the deficit,” Chen told the CT Examiner on Monday. said in a statement.
UConn will receive an additional $57.7 million and UConn Health will receive $22.3 million.
UW President Radenka Maric told Congress in February that the university would cut its budget by 5 percent each year for the next three years and look for ways to attract more students. Last month, faculty warned that the cuts would have a negative impact on academic programs, hitting graduate students especially hard.
State Rep. Toni Walker (D-New Haven), co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, said Monday that funding for colleges and universities is “critically important.”
“You know, we have more Connecticut kids attending local colleges here in Connecticut, so it's important that we make sure they have that opportunity,” Walker said.
House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said Congress would direct an additional $40 million to universities ($20 million to the CSCU system and $20 million to University Colleges) if there is no deficit at the end of the year. . .
Education/childcare
Walker noted that the bill retains $150 million in education funding that Congress set aside for 2023. Gov. Ned Lamont had proposed taking $36 million from that and putting it toward child care, a move that was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats.
“In all the years I've been here, education is the number one focus of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Senate and House,” Walker said. “Education equalizes our communities. It gives us opportunity. And when we start cutting these funds, that's when we start to pivot in the direction we want to go. .”
Congress would also increase per-pupil funding for needy students attending charter schools, magnet schools and agricultural vocational schools.
On child care, Congress set aside $18.8 million to increase subsidies through Care4Kids, $1.2 million for Smart Start, and $1.1 million for Birth to Five services. It also set aside $1.8 million to fund a pilot Tri-Share program in eastern Connecticut, where the state, employers and child care providers split the cost of child care.
Nonprofits in the state will receive an additional $50 million in funding, representing a 2.5 percent increase, Walker said.
An additional $10 million will be earmarked for children's behavioral health services, with $7 million set aside to keep the state's four children's emergency crisis centers open. Walker said the state is also looking for additional crisis center locations in the east.
“Part of the problem is that the amount of money we allocate [the Urgent Crisis Centers] It didn’t really cover all the services that we wanted,” Walker explained. “We are in the process of expanding Medicaid. There has been press coverage, but we are not there yet. So we need continued funding in all areas to ensure that services are not disrupted. is needed.”
How to use federal funds
Ritter said much of the $360 million in repurposed federal coronavirus funds came from two sources: indoor air quality improvement grants and spending on transportation projects, both of which were moved into bonds. He said that it would be possible. The rest comes from unfulfilled contracts and other small items.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-Blanford) opposed Democrats' decision to make changes beyond simply appropriating remaining coronavirus funding without formally releasing the budget. But he said Republicans aren't opposed to more funding for things like children's mental health and higher education, and in fact, Republicans included even more on those items in their own budget proposal released two weeks ago. He said that he had allocated funds.
“Do higher education need more money? Yes. Do nonprofits need more money? Yes. Do we need more money for mental health? Yes. We reflected some of those priorities in the budget adjustments that we presented. That's what I was saying, and we should have started with the budget, not the final version,” Candelora said.
What he fears more is what will happen next year, when federal funding for various departments will run out and the state will have to find a way to fill the gap. Told. He criticized putting more money into universities that are already raising tuition fees.
“It's not a good idea to put half of ARPA's money into a higher education system that is increasing tuition for all students,” Candelora said.
Ritter said the state is in a good position with a $4 billion budget reserve fund and positive revenue projections, but said $300 million to $400 million is a small amount compared to the overall budget.
“We believe we have the means to deal with the increase, especially the spending cap. If the deficit continued, we would be very concerned. The reality is that we have 10% in the budget reserve fund and the rainy day fund. “We're putting a billion dollars into it,” Ritter said.
Mr. Candelora also criticized a budget proposal that would place directors of certain quasi-public agencies, such as the Connecticut Port Authority, the Connecticut Airport Authority, the State Education Resource Center, and the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, under the state health insurance system. .
“I think it's a rat,” Candelora said. “I don't know if there's been a public hearing on this. I think it violates federal law under ERISA. I think it could jeopardize our entire health care system.”
Ritter said the decision was made with the aim of attracting “better talent” to the semi-public sector's boards. The Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the cost will be $1.1 million.
“We have a really hard time getting people to commit to the amount of time and time they have to give for these kinds of appointments. So we have to give something. “No,” Ritter said. “We're not going to pay them a salary, but we're going to offer them other scholarships that might help attract more people.”
Julia Bergman, communications director for Gov. Ned Lamont, said in a statement that the governor “passed a strong bipartisan budget that builds on last year's progress by making critical investments in social services, higher education, and child care. He highly praised the Congress' efforts to achieve this goal. , housing, transportation. ”
“The Governor has made clear that the funds proposed in the ARPA package should be used for one-time expenses, and that discussion on recurring expenses will occur next year when he proposes the 2026-27 budget. '' Bergman said. statement. “He is proud that Connecticut has passed a balanced budget with integrity every year since he took office.”
money for town
The city of Hartford will receive significant funding for local projects, including $1.7 million for economic development in the Upper Albany area, $5 million for the Blue Hills area and $1 million for the Police Athletic League. West Hartford will receive $1 million for its Vision Zero Action Plan aimed at preventing traffic accidents. The Prosperity Foundation, a community foundation that supports Black communities in the state, will receive $1.3 million.
The BP Larned Early Child Care Center in New London is expected to make a $2 million profit, a relief for the local school district whose request for an additional $4.5 million in funding this year was slashed by the mayor. Board Chair Elaine Maynard Adams told the CT Examiner that the funding is sufficient to support the center's functions, such as busing and staffing.
“Without this, I would have been in serious jeopardy of exiting my program at BP Learned,” Adams said.
Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie said there is “determination” to keep the center open. She said the center has 84 preschool children, some as young as 3, who could stay for another year, and another 71 children on a waiting list. .
“In addition to the interest in early childhood programs, we are seeing more and more families in need of assistance due to changes in kindergarten starting ages. We hope to serve even more children starting this summer.” We believe this funding will allow us to do that,” Ritchie told CT Examiner via text.
Shoreline East will receive an additional $5 million. In 2023, Congress voted to cut funding for the railroad to 44 percent of 2019 levels after pandemic-era ridership declines. Local residents say the impact has disrupted train schedules in the area, making it difficult to commute to and from work, and area lawmakers have complained that it is hindering economic development.
