Senate Education Chair M. Teresa Ruiz introduced a budget resolution to increase school funding by $311 million, the resolution would fund the school funding formula and maintain the annual increases, which began in FY2019. Ruiz says Murphy’s school funding proposal fails to fund districts appropriately, given the myriad extra costs associated with running schools during a pandemic.

“We made a commitment with the passage of S.2 to fully fund school districts within seven years. The proposed budget fails to keep that commitment,” said Senator Ruiz (D-Essex). “While it does reallocate some money from overfunded districts, it is simply not enough as schools across the state face increased operating costs. Many are struggling to find a way to cover PPE, sanitizing supplies, and computers, on top of their typical expenses. This resolution will provide underfunded districts with desperately needed relief and keep us on track to fully fund our schools at the state level by 2025.”