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Agreement Reached On CT Reform

“Schools Deal Sets Overhaul”
by Joseph de Avila
Wall Street Journal
May 8, 2012

In a sweeping education deal with lawmakers and teacher unions here, Gov. Dannel Malloy gave ground on some of his farthest-reaching proposals but contended the compromise was still a historic overhaul of public-school policy in a state that has proved resistant to change.

Mr. Malloy, a Democrat, has dedicated the second year of his term to revamping the public education system, calling for the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass measures on charter schools, teacher evaluations and other policies. And while so-called education reform advocates would have liked the scaled-back legislation to achieve more, they say the bill marks a landmark first step.

“I believe education reform is the civil-rights issue of our time, and once I sign this bill, the table will be set for real and fundamental reform of our public schools,” Mr. Malloy said in a statement.

The state Senate and House of Representatives passed the compromise bill Tuesday, spending another $100 million in state funding on schools. Mr. Malloy has said he would sign the package before the legislative session ends at midnight on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached after three months of negotiations among Mr. Malloy and lawmakers. The powerful union, the Connecticut Education Association, waged a well-organized campaign against measures it disliked.

The CEA bristled at many proposals Mr. Malloy made in February, particularly his attempt to give the state education commissioner broad powers to take over failing schools and his proposal that a poor performance evaluations could result in decertification for teachers. Neither provision was fully realized in the legislation.

Mr. Malloy’s original proposal “was a very top down approach,” said Mary Loftus Levine, executive director of CEA. The current bill is “a more balanced approach that has evolved since we began the legislative process in February.”

The agreement would allocate $39.5 million for the state’s lowest-performing school districts and create 1,000 preschool slots for low-income communities. It also would boost charter school funding by $2,100 per pupil over the course of the next three years—but by less than Mr. Malloy wanted and with a slower implementation. Charter schools currently receive $9,400 per pupil, about 75% of what traditional public schools receive.

The legislation gives the education commissioner limited authority to intervene in failing schools. State Education Department Commissioner Stefan Pryor could lead networks of education professionals and experts charged with turning around up to 25 failing schools.

Mr. Malloy had originally asked for $22.9 million to fund the commissioner’s network, but lawmakers gave only $7.5 million. The original proposal also required teachers and principals at failing schools to reapply for their jobs. The current bill excludes that provision.

The teachers unions lobbied hard against linking teacher evaluations to certification. The CEA organized rallies and forums in opposition to many of the governor’s proposals.

Patrick Riccards, chief executive of ConnCan, an education reform group, said the bill still provided a “strong framework.” He credited the CEA with “a masterful job of running a political campaign.”

“He expended a lot of political capital on this,” said Joseph Cirasuolo of Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. The bill is “not everything we would have liked” but was “major movement forward.”

Republicans blamed Mr. Malloy for poor strategy, saying his rhetoric led to a public battle with unions he had trouble winning. “As a result of that the degree of the reforms we all hoped to get are somewhat watered down,” said House Republican Leader Larry Cafero.

Roy Occhiogrosso, senior adviser to Mr. Malloy, contended the bill was “the most far-reaching package of education reforms that has ever been taken up in Connecticut.” “Are there things that reform advocates would have liked to have stayed in there that are not in there? Sure,” said he said. “That’s part of the legislative process.”