Governor Lamont released his budget last week at the state capitol, in which combining multiple Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) programs into one single line item. One item in particular, the CSDE After School Grants which are currently funded at $5.8 million and provide services to 70 sites statewide, was included in the proposal therefore putting the line in jeopardy.
The package includes combining the funding for Neighborhood Youth Centers ($1 million for Boys and Girls Clubs), LEAP (New Haven – $312,211), Family Resource Centers ($6.4 million), After School Grants ($5.8 million), Parent Trust Fund ($267,000), and School Based Diversion ($900,000). These six programs in the proposal are called Student Support Grants. Additionally, the Governor’s budget also calls for a 13% reduction of the overall current total allocated.
We need your help…tell legislators to leave the after school grants as a separate line item in the state budget. While the current funding is not nearly enough to serve all children and youth who need it, this expansion can not come at the expense of other essential services for children and families. Tell your legislators not to fix what isn’t broken – we do not need a combined program, and to please protect and increase the after school line in the budget.
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee needs to hear from you. Specifically, the Sub-committee on Elementary and Secondary Education will hold its public hearings on the education and early childhood portion of the governor’s budget proposal on February 20th at the Legislative Office Building. There are two ways for you to participate to have your voice heard:
1) Submit written testimony via email – It is easy to submit written testimony via the web https://www.cga.ct.gov/APP/tmy.htm, which will then be posted by the Clerk on the list for the hearing. In your one-page written statement, be sure to include your name, the name of your program/school and the town it’s in, and “Testimony Supporting After School Grant Funding in the Education Budget, February 20, 2025” at the top. (See talking points below for more ideas of what to include). For the online form where you will upload the document, choose Opposes, and add H.B. 6864 in the bill number box. Best if this is submitted by the morning of the hearing, but earlier is better.
2) Come to the Legislative Office Building or Join on Zoom – To provide in-person testimony you must register online by 3 PM on Wednesday 2/19 using this link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LLUxg-5hSnC0wxrclstEGA. The Committee will be held the following day, on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 3:00 P.M. in Room 2C of the LOB and via Zoom. The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live or CT-N.com. Always best to also submit your comments as written testimony so that they have a record of it (see above).
Talking points to help prep testimony links
- Governor Lamont released his budget last week at the state capitol. The Governor’s budget would combine 6 education grants into one Student Support Grant and reduce their funding 13% : Neighborhood Youth Centers, LEAP (New Haven), Family Resource Centers, After School Grants, Parent Trust Fund, and School Based Diversion.
- Tell legislators to leave the after school grants as a separate line item in the state budget. Protect and increase funding for the after school grants as they are.
- The impact this could have on communities across the state needs to be heard. Talk about a child you know, tell your story. How would they be impacted by having no afterschool program?
- Make an emotional plea on why these programs matter and should be protected and expanded. There is an approximate $20 million need for afterschool programming in the State of Connecticut. The current level of funding only meets one quarter of that with the current CSDE After School Grant Program ($5.8 million).