Mayor Ganim Announces Additional $10 Million to the Bridgeport Public Schools in the Next 2 Years

Bridgeport, CT - Today, Mayor Joseph Ganim announced a major component of his upcoming budget proposal, a plan to increase the City's annual contribution to the Bridgeport Public Schools by $10 million over the next two fiscal years.

In an op-ed submitted to the Connecticut Post, Mayor Ganim also called on the state to raise the foundation amount of Connecticut's Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula to adjust with inflation. The state has not increased that base level of funding per child since 2013.

"For far too long, Connecticut's school funding system has failed cities like Bridgeport and the 19,000 students we serve," stated Mayor Ganim. "Our children are just as talented and deserving as any in this state, yet their opportunities are too often dictated by a ZIP code rather than their potential. I want to thank the members of the Bridgeport legislative delegation for leading the fight in Hartford for a fairer funding formula for our students."

Mayor Ganim added, "While protecting Bridgeporters from the unfair burdens of local property taxes has been a central concern during my tenure as mayor, we must be part of the solution on the local level. I encourage the City Council to support this proposed funding increase for the BOE during the upcoming budget process."

In joint statement by City Council President Herron, and Budget Co-Chairs Ernest Newton and Richard Ortiz, they stated, "We thank Mayor Ganim for working collaboratively with us to put forth this proposal. This proposal represents an unprecedented turning point for Bridgeport's students. We have many competing needs in this city, but we refuse to let education take a back seat any longer. By working alongside Mayor Ganim to deliver the largest municipal funding increase in our city's history, we are sending a clear message: Bridgeport is putting its students first. We look forward to championing this investment throughout the Council's budget process."

Mayor Ganim's budget proposal includes an increase of $5 million for this upcoming fiscal year for the Bridgeport Board of Education followed by an additional $5 million increase to take effect the year after, for a cumulative $10 million increase to City's MBR ("minimum budget requirement"). The increase in the MBR reflects the two largest single year increases in municipal education spending in the city's history.

The full text of the Mayors' op-ed published is provided below:

In Bridgeport, we tell our children that their potential is limitless and believe that classrooms are the engines of the American Dream. Our students show up with grit, and our teachers show up with a mission: to ensure that excellence in the classroom opens every door to future success. But for too long, we have asked them to build those dreams on a crumbling foundation.

In Connecticut, the promise of public education is dictated not by a child's talent, but by their ZIP code. But dedication alone cannot bridge the immense funding gap the Bridgeport Public School District now faces. City and state government must work together to address the systematic underfunding holding our children back from reaching their full potential.

An education formula outpaced by reality

Connecticut's Education Cost Sharing ("ECS") formula was created decades ago after our state Supreme Court ruled that reliance on local property taxes produced unconstitutional disparities among communities based on their wealth. The formula starts with a foundation amount per student ofabout $11,525 - unchanged since 2013. From there, the formula increases funding for districts with higher percentages of low income students and English language learners.

On paper, that sounds fair; in practice, it falls short. The foundation amount has not kept pace with inflation or the true cost of modern education. Over the past decade, costs for special education, transportation, technology, school safety, and mental health support have surged. Urban districts in particular serve larger numbers of students who require additional academic and social supports. Bridgeport, for example, has more English language learners in one high school than some districts have in total. When the baseline is outdated, the entire formula no longer reflects reality.

While Connecticut consistently ranks as a national leader in education, that prestige masks one of the widest equity gaps in the country. Bridgeport, the state's largest district, educates more than 19,000 students, while providing essential nutrition, mental health, and social services that extend far beyond instruction. These responsibilities carry a higher price tag, and yet we face a stark resource divide compared with neighboring towns whose greater property wealth allows them to outspend urban districts regardless of state aid.

This inequity is not theoretical or simply on paper. It reveals itself in poorer test scores and lower graduation rates, in crowded classrooms and aging buildings, and in limited student interventions for our most vulnerable students.

A call for state reform

Therefore, I join our Bridgeport State Delegation, Acting Superintendent Royce Avery, and our Board of Education, alongside the City Council and our dedicated parents and teachers, in calling for a fundamental transformation of the ECS formula. This reform must, at minimum, raise the foundation to adjust for inflation. Beyond that, it must account for the actual, intensive costs of special education and English language learners, while finally addressing the profound impact of concentrated poverty and family economic hardship.

We are not asking for a favor; we are demanding a funding system that rectifies decades of unconstitutional disparities and finally levels the playing field for our urban students.

Bridgeport must lead by example

Meanwhile, as we advocate for more state funding, we cannot simply rely on action from Hartford. City government must be an active part of the solution.

Therefore, as we implement the revaluation budget this year, I am proposing a significant local investment to jumpstart this progress: an increase of $10 million over the next two years to the city's annual contribution to the Board of Education - a $5 million increase to take effect for this upcoming fiscal year, and an additional $5 million increase to take effect the year after.

In making this proposal, I am mindful that we are making up for historic underfunding over decades and that, frankly, we can never invest enough in our children's future. However, this investment would represent the two largest single year increases in municipal education spending in the city's history.

While protecting Bridgeporters from the unfair burdens of local property taxes has been a central concern during my tenure as mayor, I believe this proposed increase in local education spending is a worthwhile investment and I urge the City Council to support it during the upcoming budget process.

A commitment to our students' future

Every child deserves access to the same quality of education, regardless of ZIP code. A solution to the inequity that characterizes school funding in Connecticut will not happen overnight, but local and state leaders have an opportunity right now to take big steps in the right direction. We need a funding system that recognizes the realities of an urban school district. If we believe education is the great equalizer, then we must fund it like it matters, because it does.

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