Sen. Gordon says Governor’s Proposed Cuts to Public Education Funding are “Absolutely Unacceptable,” Vows to Continue Fighting for the 35th District

HARTFORD, CT – After reviewing the numbers in Governor Lamont’s proposed state budget, Senator Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) is outraged by the drastic cuts to public education funding that will devastate public schools across the 35th District and lead to higher property taxes. Despite the Governor’s promise to invest in education, many towns in the district would lose critical funding by his proposed budget, a direct hit to our students, teachers, and local taxpayers.

“I won’t mince words—this is absolutely unacceptable,” said Senator Gordon. “The Governor stood before us and promised to prioritize education, but the reality is that millions of dollars are being stripped from our schools. These cuts will hurt students, overburden local budgets, and force tough choices on our communities.”

This budget removes a “hold harmless” provision for education cost sharing funding which was enacted in 2023 by the Legislature to stop planned cuts to education cost sharing grants. If this is not kept in place now, it will leave 11 out of 13 towns in the 35th District facing big cuts that total more than $4 million dollars. Two of the towns not affected are Alliance districts–their funding is preserved.

“As a freshman Senator serving on the Appropriations Committee in 2023, I fought hard in a bipartisan way to ensure the ‘hold harmless’ provision was included in the budget, and with my advocacy, this was done—protecting our towns from major financial burdens. Now, once again, with the Governor proposing to remove this provision, he’s turning his back on that commitment.”

To prevent this very scenario, Sen. Gordon introduced S.B. 591, which would have amended Section 10-262h of state law to require a permanent “hold harmless” provision in the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant formula. This provision would prevent towns from experiencing unexpected reductions in education funding.

“In the two years we’ve had the ‘hold harmless’ provision, our towns have retained more than $3 million dollars. Now, the governor is looking to rip it away, which would leave our schools scrambling to fill the gap,” Sen. Gordon continued. “I am fighting tooth and nail to stop these cuts and demand that our district gets the funding our students deserve. Already, I am encouraged by the bipartisan support I am receiving. I am optimistic that as a Legislature we will again not cut public education funding.”

Stafford, Tolland, and Coventry alone would see cuts of more than half a million dollars each by 2027. Many other towns, including Ashford, Hampton, and Woodstock, are facing hundreds of thousands in losses. “These reductions are unsustainable and will put undue pressure on local property taxpayers, who are already hit hard by the high cost of living in Connecticut,” said Senator Gordon.

Senator Gordon is working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to push for a fair, sustainable education cost sharing grant model that helps our towns’ students, schools, and taxpayers.