Citizens Network of the Capital Region

Monday, April 23, 2007

Citizens Network Continues Education Funding Forums in Bloomfield

As more and more people are looking for property tax relief yet retain the level of town services and quality public education they've become accustomed to, it is becoming increasingly clear among citizens that finding - and implementing - new ways to finance public education are imperative.

To that end, the Citizens Network is co-sponsoring another forum on alternative methods of funding education this week, to be held in Bloomfield's Marilyn Michaelson Senior Center auditorium at 7 p.m. on April 26. The event will feature five speakers - including three Bloomfield residents:

- Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut;
- State Rep. Faith McMahon of the 15th District;
- Kathy Wilson, a school finance specialist with the League of Women Voters of Connecticut;
- Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capital Region Council of Governments; and
- State Sen. Eric Coleman of the 2nd District.

Carstensen, Coleman and McMahon, who is a former Bloomfield mayor, are local residents.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Citizens Network at 860-278-4090.

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 7:16 PM 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

School Funding Summit Offers Path Forward for Connecticut

A crowd of several hundred convened at Central Connecticut State University this morning for the Citizens Network's statewide summit on school funding reform.

“The time for a real solution to Connecticut’s school funding crisis is now,” said Courtney Bourns, President of the Citizens Network of the Capital Region.

“This summit brings government leaders and other innovative thinkers together for a nonpartisan discussion about what we have to do to end our over-reliance on the property tax for school funding," Bourns continued.

“Everybody knows we can’t keep paying for something so important to Connecticut’s future as our schools the way we have been, relying heavily on a single tax. We’re at the breaking point. And with the report from the Governor’s Commission on Education Finance just released, the timing is perfect. We need to keep the momentum going until we fix the problem.”

National education finance specialist John L. Myers of the JLMyers Group in Lafayette, Colorado offered his insights on what other states have done to address their school funding problems. "There are some states that have full time commissions on education finance" that help translate the complexities of this issue to lawmakers and parents.

Myers described the Thornton commission approach in Maryland, as well as other states' approaches using an equalized, statewide property tax as a more fair fix to the inequities and other problems that result from relying on property taxes imposed unevenly from town to town.

It's not that Connecticut's policy process is broken, observed Economist Fred V. Carstensen, Director of the UConn Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, another panelist at the summit, in describing a good example in Kentucky's full-time, staffed nonpartisan center for long term policy studies. "You can't have good policy discussions if you don't have have some baseline analysis from which the discussion can proceed and which disciplines the discussion."

"We don't have a policy process. We create blue ribbon commissions that don't have any resources to do anything. There's not a systematic process for addressing these issues, and we need to do that."

"Too many folks in Connecticut take inordinate pride in our moniker "the land of steady habits," commented Jim Finley, newly appointed Executive Director and CEO of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

"The south and west are eating our lunch in dealing with some of the tougher issues out there in the public policy arena, whether it's education finance, land use, worker housing, you name it, " Finley continued. "We have no shortage of good ideas in Connecticut, but the political will to implement change has been lacking."

"The fact of the matter is that Connecticut is way behind on these
issues." - Jim Finley, CCM

Other panelists attending the summit were George Coleman, Interim Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Education ; Rep. Cameron C. Staples, Co-Chair, Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, Connecticut General Assembly; Sen. Eileen Daily, Co-Chair, Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, Connecticut General Assembly; Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, Co-chair, Education Committee, Connecticut General Assembly; and Joseph F. Brennan, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Connecticut Business & Industry Association.

The summit follows the Citizens Network’s 2006 report, “Fair Funding: Let’s Find a Better Way to Finance Local Public Education in Connecticut,” available online at www.citizensnetwork.info.

The summit was co-sponsored by the Capitol Region Council of Governments; CCSU Institute for Municipal & Regional Policy, MetroHartford Alliance, League of Women Voters of Connecticut, Capital Region Education Council and Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. Special thanks to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund for its funding support.

Labels: CCSU, citizens network, connecticut, courtney bourns, education finance, fred carstensen, jim finley, john myers, school funding, summit

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 6:19 PM 0 comments links to this post

Monday, December 11, 2006

Citizens Network Forum in Windsor Considers Alternative Funding For Public Education

Connecticut News from The Hartford Courant ::: State, Regions, & Towns On courant.com: "WINDSOR -- About 30 residents attended a forum on November 29, 2006 to discuss a dilemma that some say has frustrated state legislators for years: sufficiently funding public education and finding better ways to do it than relying heavily on local property taxes.

The forum featured guest speakers with varied opinions and solutions, including Courtney Bourns, president of the Citizens Network of the Capitol Region Inc.; Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments; Kathy Wilson, school finance specialist for the League of Women Voters of Connecticut; and state Rep. Faith McMahon, D-Bloomfield."

More >

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 10:24 PM 0 comments links to this post

Thursday, November 09, 2006

NJ Leaders Optimistic on Property Tax Relief

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and legislative leaders said they are making progress on delivering a property tax relief plan by next week's self-imposed deadline. Among other things, the lawmakers are considering new systems for distributing billions of dollars in public school aid each year and how to use $600 million a year in sales tax revenue that Tuesday's voters earmarked for property tax relief.

MORE: Newark Star-Ledger

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 8:38 AM 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

What You're Saying...

The Citizens Network is starting to hear from you. In response to our survey, Where Do You Stand on Paying for Public Schools? , here's how people are starting to weigh in. (Didn't complete the survey yet? It won't take long. Honestly. Go ahead. Click on the link.) To see survey results, click here.

“politicians salaries would be a good "service" to cut. I'd be happy to do without that!”
“Your survey is extremely skewed toward the idea that education costs should continue to climb without limit. Perhaps you should consider the opposite option. It's much more realistic.”
“Get government out of our lives, and we will prosper like never before.”
“I don't appreciate people advocating to raise my taxes. It's my money and I should be able to decide how to spend it.”
“Education should be put in hands that make it better, and far away from people like you who want to put it into the hands of government.”
“Socialism cannot work. It has been proven over and over again to be a complete and utter failure where ever it is tried.”
“Connecticut has NO coherent policy process. There is no serious, sustained effort to evaluate policies and programs, or to assess long-term trends. Thus there is NO framework or analysis for meaningful discussions of the challenges we face or the policy options we should consider. We throw darts and argue from ideology or personal preference, without facts (data) or even awareness of what has worked elsewhere. We are in the dark!”
“Education is a specific issue of funding, but the State's tax structure as a whole is a primary focus. In attempting to address the funding needs of education, we must not let it become the tail that wags the dog, for there are many other issues at stake. A holistic approach is needed, and the proposals presented seem disjointed at best.”
"Change the way business is done. Look at cost sharing within a region or between towns, to create effiencies and cost savings. Create leverage in purchasing power by sharing costs. Savings should be invested in education."
"Yes, but the legislature needs to take an active role in these issues, rather than leaving the issues to each individual town."
"Possible ways to work together by regions, rather than being so town centered that we limit possibilities. Our good magnet schools are an example, The cooperative programs of CREC are an example."
"There are ways that LSD's could save money by working together on common issues,(such as security issues) curriculum purchases,administrative issues, i.e. larger scale buying, and sharing expertise of consultants, etc."
"I think there is plenty of money being wasted by our state govt that could be used for the schools. My concern with enacting more state taxes is that a larger percentage of the money will be wasted or misallocated. It is much easier for towns to find and reduce waste since their budgets are much smaller and have fewer items on them than the state budget. I think that towns could choose to raise personal property taxes while cutting real estate taxes. (I think that car values often correspond to family income.) "
"Rather than raise awareness about allocating tax dollars, I think that awareness needs to be raised among low income families about the importance of their children's education. I also think that suburban families should be given more opportunities to help urban kids succeed in school through mentoring, buying supplies and basic clothes, providing incentives for academic goals being reached, etc. If, for example, each urban school was matched with a suburban sponsoring town, I think we would see the school experience of urban kids improving without additional govt spending. "
"'Everyday folks' should be raising, discussing, and debating issues like school funding through the legislative process--sitting in on sessions, and organizing citizen's legislative oversight networks, as needed. "
"Organizing is most useful in pressuring the legislature to resume legitimate representative and judicious conduct on behalf of constituencies. Parallel, and disconnected organizaton which does not improve the legislative process will either be impotent, or will sabotague an existing system which should serve us better. "
Connecticut was once known as a manufacturering state. we should include empowerment ( education) not only at the vocational but the scientific level.
"the whine that if we just spend more money, the kids will get smarter is too hilarious for words. State-wide funding of anything will prove to be a black hole. "
"I believe Connecticut needs to adopt a system of effective regional municipal government & education to replace the current non-system of 169 independent silos. BUT it will be very difficult to accomplish = 'county' government is a dirty word with the natives. "
"There should be a limit on the size of high schools OR a requirement to provide multiple sports teams and theatre options to schools over a certain size. Large schools (drawing from a much larger population) are MUCH more discriminatory than smaller schools, thereby providings significantly less opportunity for participation than smaller schools. Example: High school with 2000 offers a drama program that offers maybe a dozen significant roles in the school play."
"Having worked closely with the CT DOE over the past several years, I think that opportunities exist within the existing funding of the department to re-prioritize and re-direct certain discretionary funds. The DOE is extremely bureaucratic, and I think that an audit of how money is spent, how grants are let, and whether these processes can be streamlined and used in a synergistic way would be valuable. A tremendous amount of money is let with no requirement for true accountability and/or follow-up and sustainabilty."
"Sure. This state already spends more on education per pupil than almost any other state in the country. Connecticut already has the HIGHEST overall tax burden of any state in the country. Guess what? Connecticut's population hasn't grown in 40 years. Guess what that means re jobs and business and the state's ability to attract them? Please, GO AWAY and leave us alone. Otherwise we'll ALL choose to leave. "
"What is the primary purpose of the group - is it to reduce taxes or to get more money for education or is it to get a bigger bang for the buck now being spent?Usually, when one talks about reform, they mean let the state fund education totally. This is fraught with potential problems since the state legislature is beholden to the educator unions. More money will be spent and those in donor towns (i.e. those towns sending more money to the state than they receive) end up paying more only its called state taxes as opposed to property taxes.Real reform would involve reforming the binding arbitration law. "
"Dear Citizens Network: Thank you! Education is like air, we need it to thrive and survive. Our neighbors and citizens deserve a better world, education is that key that could open the door. The best way to learn maybe to listen, remember, and to be involved, a Citizens Network could help us, citizens of Connecticut, get to value and know each other. - Truly, A Concerned Student of a Community College"
"Great job developing this survey. The problem has to be solved and the Governor has the responsibility of working with the state legislature to change the way Connecticut funds education for our future workforce - sooner rather than later. Too much time and social capital has been wasted already."
"A clear definiton of "local controls on education". There already are so many mandates, what actually is at stake here? In the "Findings", although there is not a legal anchor on the ECS grant, it is not entirely true to say that "these funds may be spent on other town services". As the central theme of the report indicates, state grants amount to only 37% of the budget. It is important to separate the budget from revenue. Accountability - It is time to separate property tax bill for education from town services. I always thought this was a bad idea, as costs could actually escalate without proper oversight. But, if the state is to play a much larger role in funding education, (including special education), then separate the mill rate and institute more state control. ...Budget referenda are destroying communities. When the Federal and State government continue to reduce funding, the property tax can not keep pace. With a split mill rate, taxpayers recognize when town services and the infrastructure is improved, their property value increases. ...Unfortunately, many taxpayers do not see the value of education. I believe the state should assume closer to 75% of the cost of education. The federal government should not get a bye for their role. At the very best they fund 7% of education, but more like 4%, but politicians feet are not put in the fire. They talk education, but do not fund it. Define educational expenditures. Some communities have pools, hockey rinks, etc. Also, town services such as snow removal; refuse; school police officers; recreational field maintenance, etc. are not even in the education budget, but are true costs. ...Finally, this issue is of top priority. Towns have already responded to failed budget referenda in some very bad ways. Trying to get grand list growth by 55+ development has negatively impacted education. ...Never mind the annual abandonment of capital improvements. Within the next 5 years, if funding education is not addressed, there will be more than just cities that become distressed muncipalities. The suburbs are next. It will be a reality, and the state does not want that responsibility."

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 8:28 AM 1 comments links to this post

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Speak Up! Speak Out! Weigh In!

Where Do You Stand on Paying for Public Schools?

Education is roundly professed to be one of our state's highest priorities. Our state constitution mandates that we provide for the public education of our children. But instead of relying on a balanced portfolio of revenue sources to fund our public schools, Connecticut relies heavily on just one source: local property taxes. In a typical Connecticut town, more than 60% of the costs of public education are paid for through local property taxes.

But that's not the only problem. Revenues from local property taxes are slow-growing and entirely out of step with the fast-growing costs of educating in a highly competitive world. Although we are one of the wealthiest states in the country, no state pays a smaller share of the public education bill than Connecticut does. And Connecticut habitually pays less toward public education than state law requires. By paying only about 40% of the costs for public education instead of the 50% payment that state law requires, the state short-changes Connecticut's school systems, and the cities and towns that run them, by about $900 million a year. Yet according to news accounts, Connecticut enjoyed a $940.5 million surplus for 2006.

That Connecticut's school funding gap has come to a head is beyond debate.

This is not merely a question of which of the taxpayers' pockets the money comes from. Our over-reliance on property taxes is repeatedly igniting costly, bitter and failed local budget referenda. In town after town it is prompting things like cuts in important public services, bigger classrooms, pay-to-play sports, and pressure to sell soda in schools for a cut of the sales price. It is widely regarded as the root of counterproductive competition among towns for new sources of property tax revenue, fostering sprawl and the consumption of the landscape that once made Connecticut unique.

The time for a solution is now, and you can play a part in it - by telling us and your legislators what you think about how we can do a better job of paying for public education.

Weigh in now with our survey - it won't take long. You'll be glad you did.

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 12:43 PM 0 comments links to this post

School Financing Case Plays Out in Court, and in Classrooms

Connecticut is not the only state with a school funding crisis. While the Citizens Network's first study focuses on how we pay for public education, other groups are focusing on how much we pay for public education. The two are not unrelated.

An October 10, 2006 New York Times article covered the lawsuit accusing New York State of shortchanging New York City's schools by billions of dollars. That lawsuit, filed by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity against the State of New York in the spring of 1993, is now in its final stage, at New York's highest court.

The point of the lawsuit is that gross inequity in financing had caused incalculable damage. ''When you look at the cumulative deprivation of resources over time, it's not surprising that you end up with dropout rates of 40 percent or higher,'' said Joseph F. Wayland, the lead lawyer for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity coalition.

The NYT article mentions some of the consequences of inequitable funding: large classrooms with high student to teacher ratios, outdated books, inadequate teaching materials, and decaying school buildings - none of which help keep kids in school or help teachers teach effectively.

Says a former NYC Board of Education member: ''There are a number of children who have fallen by the wayside, who have been lost as a result. It's a price tag to the lives of children. That's a price tag you can't cost out at all.''

Critics of the lawsuit have long argued that many complex problems, like mismanagement, rather than a lack of money are at the root of the school system's failings. ''We have no reason to believe that just putting in more money is going to lead to any change,'' said Eric A. Hanushek, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the editor of a new book, ''Courting Failure: How School Financing Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm Our Children.''

Geri D. Palast, the director of the fiscal equity group, said it had asked the court to impose strict controls to make sure the money was spent wisely. ''Accountability is at the core of this,'' she said.

In a later development, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said cities and counties outside New York City need to invest more in their schools before demanding that the legislature increase financing to their districts, and New York City will not contribute money to any resolution of a landmark school-financing case. Read more.

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 8:59 AM 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

States Attack Property Taxes

Regrettably, the property tax and school finance crises experienced in Connecticut and across the nation have not yet fixed themselves. In three different articles, the New York Times and USA Today describe the property tax and school finance crises that remain unsolved across the country. But as one commentator pointed out, “You know the old saying, ‘Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.’ We can improve the situation even if we can’t make it perfect.”

USA Today (Aug. 24) reported that property taxes have risen 27% since 2000, after adjusting for inflation and population growth. That's less than the 41% inflation-adjusted increase in home values, but it's twice as fast as the growth in sales or income taxes. The paper also reported that:

Property taxes now consume a greater share of personal income — 3.4% — than any time since 1992, according to a USA TODAY analysis.
Economists generally like the property tax because it is stable. "The property tax is a fantastic tax for things that are purely local because, under those circumstances, it does not function like a tax. It's more like a user fee," says Harvard University economist Caroline Hoxby.

The New York Times' Gain in Income Is Offset by Rise in Property Tax (Aug. 14) reports:

"Property taxes grew two to three times faster than personal income from 2000 to 2004 in the suburbs surrounding New York City, a sharp reversal from the 1990’s, when incomes soared and property taxes climbed more modestly, a review of statistics by The New York Times has shown."
"Most states experienced a similar squeeze, data compiled recently by the Census Bureau shows. After years of moderate growth, property taxes started climbing steeply when the steam went out of the stock market in 2000, slowing income growth. Nationwide, property taxes grew 28 percent from 2000 to 2004, though income went up only 16 percent."
“In the 1990’s, we had this tremendous bubble in the stock market that boosted incomes. . . With rising incomes came a flood of revenue from income and sales taxes. In New York and New Jersey, some of the states’ bounty was funneled to local governments in the form of increased aid and property tax rebates."
“State governments increase their aid during economic booms that generate surges in income and sales taxes,” said Mr. McMahon, the Empire Center director. “But when the boom wears off, the first spigot they turn off is school aid. And the schools shift to the property taxpayer to make up the difference.”

Most recently, a New York Times article entitled Michigan’s Big Property Tax Cut, and the Lessons It Has for New Jersey (Sept.10), examined Michigan's radical approach to property tax and school finance reform in 1993, looking for measures that might be tried in New Jersey as that state takes on many of the same issues.

In 1993, the Michigan Legislature — locked in a bitter debate over school financing — voted to eliminate property taxes as the source of money for education without having another system in place. After initially resisting the move, Gov. Engler encouraged Republicans, who held a 22-16 edge in the Senate, to support the plan. “What started out as a political gimmick we saw as a chance at reform,” Mr. Engler said. “We knew that only once were we going to have a shot at this.”
Legislators drafted the legislation to change the financing and put it on the ballot in March 1994. A significant part of Michigan’s plan was a 2 percentage-point increase in the sales tax, to 6 percent from 4 percent.
The key to effecting change instead of just defaulting to the status quo, was that the Legislature had built in a provision that would have raised the income tax and lowered property taxes by a more modest rate if voters had rejected the measure. The change that voters said they wanted was assured one way or another.
Because Michigan schools rely on sales taxes, and because sales tax revenues vary according to factors like the unemployment rate and consumer spending, the amount of money raised is less stable than it was when property taxes were the primary source of financing. Michigan has routinely experienced shortfalls in school financing which it fills through payments from the general fund, which amount to roughly a half-billion dollars annually.

In Connecticut, we can - and we must - improve the situation even if we can’t make it perfect.

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 10:24 AM 0 comments links to this post

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Alliance for Regional Stewardship

For those of you interested in regional cooperation, please take a moment to look at this Alliance for Regional Stewardship e-letter.

The Alliance for Regional Stewardship is a great resource. This letter points out that there is a great deal going on around the country involving citizens to promote a regional approach to problems. In Greater Washington, for example, the community foundation has joined with business and elected officials in a multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative. Without a similar initiative, the Capital region is bound to continue to lag and suffer.

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 9:10 PM 0 comments links to this post

Welcome to the Citizens Network’s 2nd eLetter!

August 2006

On June 1st we sent out our first eLetter describing our progress in establishing a citizens network throughout Hartford and the towns of the Capital region. We are a non-partisan, broad-based, grassroots organization composed of citizens from across the region. Our members identify and study pressing issues facing the region and work with business and local elected officials to find solutions. We have no vested interest other than to help the region face daunting challenges ahead to be economically competitive in “a world that is flat” and maintain and enhance the quality of life for all of our citizens.

To recap a portion of our 1st eLetter: The first issue that citizens of the region selected for study was finding a better way --- than the current excessive reliance on local property taxes --- to fund public education. In response, we

Convened a 45 member committee to study the issue;
Published a “community conversation draft” of the committee’s report in July, 2005;
Disseminated the committee’s final report in February, 2006;
Have hoseted a series of town meetings in the region to get community feedback to the report; and
Are planning a November workshop for key state, business and local participants to find a way to increase the state’s support for local education to an average of 50%.

Now we are moving forward to involve citizens in addressing other regional issues that were identified in the May, 2006 CPTV documentary: Regionalism: a commitment to place. There is an emerging consensus that breaking out of our 169 town “go it alone” approach to work together to address problems too big to be solved on a town-by-town basis is a task comparable to “going up a down escalator.” It won’t happen easily and will only happen if citizens begin working together across community boundaries to tackle problems that confront us all: preventing further sprawl, making the region competitive for jobs and economically secure for our children, providing them with housing they can afford when they return here after school…and with good public schools that are not so heavily reliant for funding on local property taxes.

Check out our new Blog at http://www.citizensnetwork.blogspot.com/. We've set it up so it's easy to use. It’s a way for you to participate, at your own convenience, in the dialogue about issues critical to the well-being of our region. We want to know what you think --- about finding a better way to finance public education, about other issues you think are important, about regional cooperation between towns, and about how we can play a useful role in promoting the interests of the Capital region. You can leave your comments at the end of each article. Follow the link to the “Post a Comment” section and type away.

Our Blog will be a great place for you to see what others are thinking as well, and to weigh in to the debate. We look forward to hearing from you. And become a member of the Network--- go to our website: http://www.citizensnetwork.info/ and click on the membership icon. We would like to get you involved. We need your voice, your help and your support! Questions? Call or email Courtney Bourns, 278-4090 or cbourns@citizensnetwork.info.

// posted by Kelly Kennedy @ 9:08 PM 0 comments links to this post