Jon Pelto, More school funding?

But Pelto said he believes something else is coming – a mandate to finally correct an unconstitutional system for financing public school education.

A coalition of cities and towns filed a lawsuit on behalf of local students back in 2005, arguing that the state’s Education Cost Sharing grant program – its chief means of support local schools – didn’t meet the constitutional mandate to provide every child with a comprehensive education.

That case goes to trial before the state Supreme Court this fall and Pelto said he believes Connecticut ultimately could be forced to increase its $2 billion ECS program by anywhere from 35 to 100 percent.

“We’re not going to get there in a year or two but we’re going to need a new formula now,” he said.

But even if Connecticut is given a decade or longer to gradually increase its education funding, that potential mandate – coupled with a post-election deficit, a sluggish recovery and long under-funded public-sector employee retirement benefit programs – should end any delusions of state tax cuts on the horizon, he said.

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http://ctmirror.org/pelto-state-budget-deficit-reveals-a-broken-fiscal-system/