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Danbury Schools Offer Public Forum On State's School Aid

DANBURY, Conn. -- The Danbury citywide PTO, Danbury Board of Education, Danbury City Council, state legislators and community leaders will host a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Broadview Middle School cafeteria, 72 Hospital Ave., Danbury.

Danbury School Superintendent Sal Pascarella

Danbury School Superintendent Sal Pascarella

Photo Credit: File

The meeting is to discuss the challenges of what the groups say is underfunded by the state.

The district, most recently, has added a new middle school and increased the size of several elementary schools. 

Danbury High School will soon add an additional 55,000 square feet to accommodate a projected student population of more than 3,000 students. 

Despite the growth of the Danbury schools, the district remains 50 percent underfunded by the state, according to school officials, said a release. 

The district is looking to the state to release the $30 million of annual aid that was cut from last year’s budget. 

School officials, using data released from the state, said more affluent towns, such as Greenwich, are overfunded by as much as 63 percent, the release said. 

The Connecticut School Finance Project, an agency paid for by grants from nonprofit foundations that helps schools find solutions to state aid flaws also will help lead the meeting. 

The district had its first meeting to discuss this issue in October. About 35 members of the public attended. 

A point stressed consistently during that meeting was that while many districts are experiencing drops in enrollment, Danbury is unusual in that its student population is increasing, on average, by 120 students per year. 

There are 285 more students this year than in the 2014-15 school year. Based on the Education Cost Sharing formula suspended by the state in 2013, Danbury schools remains underfunded by the state 50 percent, which translates to nearly $30 million per school year, said the release.

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