Hartford city council reviewing school budget, looking at possible help with $70M deficit
The school budget battle continues to play out in Hartford. The school district says there’s still about a $75 million funding gap. The city council is now reviewing the school budget and will start exploring ways to help fill that gap. The council president says there may be room to help a little, but they can’t cover it all.
The Hartford City Council now has its hands on the school budget. It comes as Hartford Public Schools said it’s facing a deficit of more than $70 million. Council president TJ Clarke says they’re looking at what could be done.
“I’ve already had discussions with my council colleagues regarding what we can do to alleviate some of their budgetary deficits,” he said.
Council is reviewing the budget before the board of education makes a formal presentation next week. The district says soaring special education and related transportation costs have played a big part. Clarke says this is a structural issue years in the making, but the city could help cover around $3 million of the deficit for the next fiscal year.
“We can’t do an extreme amount of money, but I think that’s probably a good starting point,” he said.
Some community members say the state needs to step in with funding to support the school district’s focus on quality education, noting there’s not much left to cut in the district.
“The state should come in and pay it, and they should pay us more,” Michael Downes, president of the Hartford Federation of Substitute Teachers, said.
“Down through the years, it’s just gotten worse and worse and worse,” Patricia Adams of Hartford said.
It also comes as the State Department of Education questioned the district, saying its findings show a surplus of $2.4 million this year, and wants an independent audit. The district says it’s all a misunderstanding, that its numbers have stayed the same since the beginning of budget season, and that it will work with the state to clarify the numbers. Clarke says he hopes it gets resolved to find the best path forward.
“Hopefully we can come to some terms of agreement whether there’s a surplus or a deficit before the end of the session, because we really need those numbers,” he said.
So what happens next? On April 22, the Hartford Board of Education will give a presentation to the City Council about the budget. This is when council members can ask questions and make suggestions. Then, in May, the council will vote on the city’s budget, and the school budget will be part of that.
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