CCER: Do Not Cut Education Funding. It is Critical to the Health of the State’s Economy. 

New Haven, Connecticut – On Friday, April 25th, the Office of Fiscal Analysis reported that tax revenues have been lower than expected for this fiscal year, which means the State will need to reduce expenditures. In the face of potential budget cuts, Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER), released the following statement:

“We are pleased that the Malloy administration still plans to fund its top priorities: investing in education and economic development. These two priorities are critically linked. Any cuts to education or the education reform budget would be both shortsighted and irresponsible.

“In Connecticut, each high school dropout costs Connecticut more than $500,000 over the course of his or her lifetime. This is because students who don’t have a high school diploma both earn less and require more social services than their peers who graduate. For example, we know that a student who drops out of high school is three times more likely than a high school graduate to be incarcerated. These numbers add up to a loss of over $2 billion for each class of dropouts.

“Furthermore, our existing education system produces many students who graduate high school and still remain unprepared to contribute to Connecticut’s economy. Only 44% of graduates from Connecticut high schools are ready to succeed in colleges and careers. Over the course of a decade, we are adding over 200,000 unskilled workers to our labor force, which is damaging to business development and devastating to our economy.

“Improving Connecticut’s public education system is crucially important to the future fiscal health of the State. By investing in our children’s futures, we improve the State’s economy. Therefore, I urge the legislature to refrain from reducing spending on improving Connecticut’s education system.”

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About the Connecticut Council for Education Reform

The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER)–a statewide, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) not- for-profit organization–works to close the achievement gap and raise academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut. The achievement gap is the disparity in academic achievement between children from low-income families and children of color, and their peers. We advocate for state policies and local practices that research shows have the best chance of raising achievement for high-need student populations.

For more information on CCER, go to www.ctedreform.org