Ed. 2, 11.14.24

Edition 2 of our monthly newsletter: Teasing out the latest trends in news, reports, and current events; bringing you the inside scoop on budding policy ideas in Connecticut and beyond.

CT Goes Deep Blue in 2024

Connecticut seems to have bucked the nationwide trend towards MAGA in 2024, with Democrats securing a supermajority in both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly. US Senator Chris Murphy beat out GOP challenger Matthew Corey in a landslide and won reelection to the US Senate; and all of Connecticut's five US House seats stayed blue, with Jahana Hayes winning by six points in what had looked like a competitive rematch. As CT News Junkie reports, Democrats also gained a seat in the state Senate and at least four in the state House. 

The outcomes will really shake things up on the Connecticut General Assembly’s Education Committee. On the Republican side, Rep. Kathleen McCarty—a Ranking Member with tremendous influence on the Education Committee and four-time incumbent in the 38th District—was defeated by Democratic challenger Nick Gauthier. Republican Rep. Rachel Chaleski, one of the Committee’s most vocal supporters of school choice in Danbury, lost her seat to Democrat Ken Gucker in the 138th House District. Likewise, Sen. Lisa Seminara and Rep. Francis Cooley were defeated by Democrats Paul Honig and Rebecca Martinez, respectively. On the Democratic side, fifteen-year incumbent Rep. Michelle Cook lost her seat to Republican Joe Canino after a ballot recount in Torrington this week. Meanwhile, the Committee House Chair, Democratic Rep. Jeff Currey, announced over the summer that he would not seek reelection. With all of these changes afoot, the Education Committee will look markedly different in the 2025 legislative session.

“Who Benefits” from CT’s Approach to Teacher Retirement?

Our partner, Equable, has released a report titled “Who Benefits”—which highlights how Connecticut's funding of teacher pension obligations favors wealthier, less diverse, and higher-performing public school districts. In his coverage, Alex Putterman from CT Insider explains that, "Connecticut pays pensions for teachers across every public school district, based on a formula that accounts for salary and years of service. This effectively operates as a state subsidy, allowing school systems to pay educators more without fretting the cost of retirement benefits." This state subsidy reinforces already existing inequities, including differences in teacher pay, racial demographics, socioeconomic makeup, and performance. The solution proposed is for some of the highest-paying districts to share responsibility for the pension obligations that they themselves generate, and free up additional resources to support districts in financial need. Read the report here.

Equable’s idea is especially timely given that lawmakers have been forecasting a legislative session dominated by discussions of retirement benefits. According to a CT Mirror story, "Connecticut will dedicate more than a tenth of its budget this year toward retirement benefits for state employees." In fact, Connecticut's pension expenditures for state employees and municipal teachers ranked among the highest in the nation as a share of public-sector payroll. The solution proposed by Equable would help to secure long-term sustainability of the Teacher Retirement System.

119K Commission’s $900M Solution

Speaking of resource equity… The 119K Commission has been making headlines over the past month after the release of its report, “Young People First: A Bold Plan to Address Connecticut's Statewide Crisis”—which seeks to address the 119,000 youth aged 14-26 that the Dalio Foundation has identified as being “disconnected” from both education and the workforce. CT News Junkie describes how the report identifies 22 "aligned actions” for the state to take over the next decade, in order to get 60,000 of these disconnected youth back on track. The CT Mirror observes that the report calculates the cost of inaction at $750 million, a frame that helps to make the case for the large-scale investments it proposes—which amount to $150 million up front, and then more than $900 million annually. 

CT Insider quotes Governor Lamont as responding that Connecticut is, "already doing a lot of what people are recommending. We've just got to do it better, and we've got to do it bigger." Meanwhile, the legislature is also contending with fiscal guardrails that will force it to save over $2.5 billion in the next biennial budget, according to Keith Phaneuf's article this week—which will leave less resources available for spending.