Not even a year into financing a major overhaul of Connecticut’s school funding formula, the economic forecast nationally and locally has turned anything but sunny. There are signs as far away as California and as near as the Statehouse that suggest overcast conditions ahead. On this site, over the days and weeks ahead, we will be discussing these and other issues that could impact school funding in Connecticut, and hopefully engage in a dialogue around all things school finance.

Agree or disagree. Comment on an issue or raise one of your own. It doesn’t need to go any farther than that, but with any luck, maybe some education and fiscal policy makers will POST from time to time. In any case, welcome and come back often.

What are these storm signals? There are several and we’ll go into them in a little more detail in upcoming postings. For now let’s list a few.

The possibility of a national economic recession (if you are not among those who believe it’s already here) looms as number one. Income, sales and property tax revenues all sooner or later get caught up in a downturn, potentially hurting state and local spending power.

Signs in some other states indicate an urgency not yet voiced in Connecticut but troubling none the less. Current year spending cuts and freezes are showing up in a variety of states, among them: New Jersey, Kentucky and California.

Are the massive cuts (up to 60%) in federal reading grant funding an aberration or signs of things to come?

Governor Rell has once again announced support for a cap on local property tax increases. Raised without success during last year’s legislative session, such a measure would statutorily limit the ability of cities and towns to raise revenues at a time when uncertainty is creeping into the state budget future.

And finally, as luck would have it, the much needed and long overdue Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant reform package adopted last year still has miles to go—and some pretty rough weather ahead. What a shame it would be to have ECS reform derailed or seriously delayed after working toward it for so long.

These are among the topics to be discussed in upcoming postings. Have an opinion? Or a question? Send it along. Remember 06106 is the place where school happens. Why let it happen without you?