Financing Agreements Spur New Housing in Five Connecticut Communities

State housing agencies have recently signed financing agreements to create a total of 758 housing units across Connecticut, with more than half of them – 396 – being affordable for low- and moderate-income renters, the Department of Housing announced in August.

Another 18 units will represent permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness and people with disabilities in Westport, according to a press release from the Housing Department and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.

The developments are expected to provide new housing opportunities for residents in Norwalk, Stamford and Westport in Fairfield County as well as Norwich and Waterford in New London County.

“We’re excited that these finance agreements are done, and construction can begin,” Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said in a press release. “These units will become permanent homes for our residents who deserve high-quality affordable living. DOH will continue to work as fast as possible to ensure our families and individuals have affordable housing options in their own communities.”

The projects will be funded by a combination of $25 million in loans and grants as well as low-income housing tax credits, expected to generate nearly $100 million in private investment.

The nearly 400 affordable units will be earmarked for residents making at maximum 80% of area median income in a given community. About 360 of those units will be funded by the Build for CT program, which supports the creation of apartments designed to be affordable for middle-income residents.

In Westport, a project funded by the Department of Housing involves acquiring an unoccupied building and converting all but one unit to supportive housing, the first time a project like that has gone underway in the town.

Through the partnerships, South Norwalk will see 161 new units reserved for households earning a maximum of 60% of local median income and 155 units for those making a maximum of 80% of that income.

Stamford will see a redevelopment project begin with 61 total units, 19 of which will utilize vouchers to support very low-income households, while a Westport will start with the acquisition of a property at 122 Wilton Road. This rehabilitated and unoccupied building will include 19 total units serving individuals and families earning a maximum of 60% of the area’s median income.

In New London County, Norwich will see a former mill building converted into a 146-residential unit project, with 50 of those units limited to residents earning up to 80% of area median income. Meanwhile, the third phase of the Waterford Woods project will add 216 units with 44 of them reserved for households earning up to 80% of the area’s median income.

These investments come at a critical time as Connecticut has struggled with an extended housing crisis, in which high demand and limited supply have contributed to rising housing costs for many families.

Posted by Joe O’Leary

Gasoline and Home Heating Oil Prices are Way Down in Connecticut

As recently reported by Hearst CT Media, gasoline prices in Connecticut are now at least 40 cents per gallon cheaper than they were last year at this time.

And prices for home heating oil – one of the fuels of preference for Connecticut homeowners –are at their lowest in four years.

Both price drops are good news for consumers bothered by a summer of record heat and the high electricity bills that come with battling the costly effects of global climate change.

According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Connecticut was about $3.39 on the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend – down 41 cents, or almost 11%, from last year at this time. That’s about the same price for gas that people are paying in Wyoming and Maine. Connecticut prices are even down 16 cents a gallon from even just a month ago.

Connecticut gasoline prices spiked to $5 a gallon for regular unleaded in the summer of 2022, a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine and fears of supply disruptions spiked crude oil prices from $70 a barrel to $115 a barrel.

So why the drop now?

“Right now, inventories are good. We have more inventory than we did last year, so supply is less tight. We’re not seeing a fuel shortage,” AAA Northeast spokeswoman Lauren Fabrizi told Hearst CT Media. “Another reason is, despite the popularity of summer road trips, overall gas demand is down right now. That’s partly because daily driving habits have changed following the pandemic. For example, with more people working remotely, they’re not commuting as much.”

But gasoline isn’t the only fuel that Connecticut consumers are saving on this fall.

Right now, prices for home heating oil – used by about 42% of Connecticut homeowners to heat their homes in the winter (along with natural gas and electricity) – are at their lowest levels in about four years.

Home heating oil is selling for as low as $2.59 a gallon in some places in Connecticut, though the statewide average is about $3.36 a gallon. Still, that’s significantly cheaper than the $4.28 a gallon a year ago in October 2023, or the $5.92 two years ago in October 2022.

Some home heating oil dealers are even offering “pre-buy” or “lock-in” contracts where customers can pre-buy a set amount of oil at a set price, and avoid the inevitable price hikes that come in the late fall and early winter due to supply and demand.

Posted by Lawrence Cook

Connecticut Schools Report Rising Test Scores, Declining Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism declined in Connecticut schools last year as student test scores increased in mathematics, according to recent data released by the State Department of Education, which reflected a continuation of several consecutive years of improved student performance.

According to the Department of Education, chronic absenteeism declined from 20% in the 2022-23 school year to 17.7%. That one-year decrease of 2.3% represents more than 11,000 fewer students who missed 10% or more of school days in Connecticut in 2023-24. A total of 158 school districts, more than 80%, reported a decline in chronic absenteeism.

The Education Department said its home visitation initiative, the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, has helped drive significant improvement in attendance six months after a visit. This program targets students with chronic absences and sends staff to visit the student’s home to communicate with parents and children about how they can get back into the classroom. The agency found a correlation between LEAP and double-digit improvements in student attendance rates six months after a visit.

Meanwhile, the statistics found chronic absenteeism in younger age groups decreased at a faster rate compared to upper grades, suggesting early engagement helped keep students in class.

While the report found absenteeism above the pre-pandemic rate of 12.2% during the 2019-20 school year, it was down six points from a peak of 23.7% in the 2021-22 school year. High-needs students were still seeing higher rates of absenteeism, but those rates have dropped from a peak of 34% of students missing 20% of classes in 2021-22 to 25.5% of students in 2023-24, a 8.5% decline in two years.

Student performance increased in nearly all mathematics metrics and several English language arts metrics. On average, student proficiency increased 0.5% from 59.7 to 60.2, according to the report.

While still below the state’s target performance in these metrics, the increase observed in the report represents a recovery of nearly two points from two years ago, showing year-over-year improvements.

In English language arts, test scores remained consistent with previous years’ performance, with younger grades seeing improvements in test-taking. In mathematics, all but the eleventh grade saw year-over-year improvement.

Additionally, educational performance in science proficiency saw year-over-year gains for all but the fifth grade, with proficiency rising to a grade of 61.8, just two points behind 2019 metrics.

In the report, the Education Department highlighted some of its strategies for encouraging students to return to classrooms. Those strategies included masterclasses to improve teachers’ reading instruction, investments in core student curricula, summer enrichment efforts, apprenticeship programs and dedicating resources to support students with disabilities.

Posted by Joe O’Leary

Youth Employment Program Helping Young Connecticut Residents Explore Careers

Gov. Ned Lamont highlighted Tuesday a significant funding increase for the Connecticut Youth Employment Program, which connects workers ages 14-24 to meaningful, career-oriented employment. This program allows participants to get real, hands-on career training, network with professionals in their field of interest – all while earning a paycheck.

Connecting people to the world of employment at a young age has a marked benefit on their development — from improving job readiness, to increasing leadership skills and strengthening their economic stability.

The Connecticut Youth Employment Program aims to help young people overcome common barriers to employment. Not only does it connect participants with career opportunities, the program covers participant salaries and expenses, such as uniforms or transportation.

According to the Governor’s Office, approximately 94% of youths participating in the program are high school students, 2% are in college, and 4% are not in school. Additionally, with a focus on disconnected and underserved young people, the program provides community support and resources.

“This program is an incredible asset both to our young people and their families, but also to local businesses,” said Sen. Julie Kushner, chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. “The next generation of workers are getting hands-on experience, learning alongside professionals in their fields and they are being compensated for their work. By learning workplace skills and expectations at a young age, these individuals will enter the workforce with a monetized skillset, leading them to higher wages and more job security.”

Young people who seek to enroll in this program should contact their local Workforce Development Board, contact information can be found at this link.

Posted by Garnet Laughlin

Connecticut Boosts Health Care Support for Paraeducators

A temporary subsidy program launched last year to help thousands of Connecticut paraeducators cover out-of-pocket health care expenses has been renewed and expanded, state officials announced Tuesday.

During a mid-day press conference outside Meriden’s Francis Maloney High School, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said the bolstered program would help school districts fill critical paraeducator vacancies as students returned to classrooms across Connecticut.

“There is already a shortage of these individuals [paraeducators] to meet the needs that we have in the classrooms of Connecticut and so we came together and did what Connecticut does best, which is — thanks to the governor’s leadership, the legislature — we got everyone around a table and we figured out what we could do to solve what was very big problem,” Scanlon said.

Last year, the program received $5 million in state funding and helped 4,166 paraeducators cover out-of-pocket expenses under high-deductible health care plans. State officials have renewed that subsidy for this school year.

This year, policymakers also dedicated an additional $5 million to expanding the initiative through a second subsidy intended to offset the cost of insurance premiums paid by paraeducators who are enrolled in traditional copay plans.

State officials expect the two subsidies to assist a combined total of roughly 6,000 paraeducators across the state.

Sen. Jan Hochadel, a Meriden Democrat and former teacher, said the assistance would begin to remedy a disparity between the vital work performed by paraeducators and the compensation they receive. She described paraeducators as the “glue” that held many schools together, often caring for and supporting many of the state’s most vulnerable students.

“The truth is, our public schools could not provide the academic and social support that are needed for all students without our paraeducators,” Hochadel said, “and, as has been mentioned many times, these are most often our lowest-paid workers.”

Sen. Doug McCrory, a longtime educator who co-chairs the legislature’s Education Committee, said he found paraeducators to be essential to a functioning classroom. McCrory said the expanded subsidy announced Tuesday represented a step toward fair compensation for paraeducators.

“As we continue to move forward, we need to provide a living wage and also encourage more of our young people to get that experience in the classroom,” McCrory said. “I know so many people who were paras at first and became teachers themselves because they had that experience.”

During the press conference, Gov. Ned Lamont praised Connecticut’s schools as the best in the nation and said he expected to continue building on the health care subsidies for paraeducators who supported those schools.

“What I love about our state is we care about these kids,” the governor said. “And a little bit of extra respect to show what we can do for our paras — make it a little bit easier for them to show up every day, make it a little bit easier for them to live. That’s what we’re trying to do today, that’s what this subsidy means.”

Posted by Hugh McQuaid