Meriden rolls back school cuts with $7.7M from state; see how much your town gets
The governor’s office released a list of education and municipal funding each city and town is receiving from the fiscal year 2027 budget adjustment legislation.
Just over $172 million in supplemental education aid and $100 million in town aid will be distributed to cities and towns.
“This is the first year we’re bringing positions back; it’s huge,” Meriden Public Schools Superintendent Mark Benigni said at a board of education meeting on Tuesday. “We need these resources. Our kids deserve it.”
He said he is elated that $7.7 million in state educational aid and $1 million from the city cover what the district needed to keep programs the same for next year. That funding also leaves about an extra $500,000 available to restore things they’ve had to cut in the past.
Meriden is in the list of the top five municipalities that got the most aid, along with Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and New Britain.
Thomas Hooker Elementary School, the district’s smallest elementary school, would close if the district didn’t receive additional funding. Twenty-two positions, including 15 teaching positions, were on the chopping block. Benigi said all of those positions have been reinstated.
The proposed budget cuts prompted a large student walkout at Maloney High School two weeks ago. Junior Shepard Fisher organized the demonstration to advocate for more funding.
“That made a real difference,” Fisher said at that board of education meeting. “Teachers, students from other districts contacted me, saying, ‘hey, we really want to do a similar thing’ or ‘that really has moved us’. And so that was really inspiring to me.”
Fischer wants to be a teacher one day, so he’s been following news about education funding.
“I know it’s just a one-time funding, so I’m looking forward to next year’s legislative session,” he said.
Benigni said he has also considered 2028 and whether the district will be in good financial shape.
“From a district perspective, we can continue to lobby for additional funding, but we also can be creative with how we deliver our services,” he said. “As the lowest funded district in the state, I’m proud of what we’re able to offer our students and families.”
From breaking news and local politics to art exhibitions, live music, high school sports, small businesses, and cultural events, we celebrate the people and places that make Connecticut unique.