Senator Tim Larson (D-East Hartford) today issued the following statement regarding Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s announcement of a revised Executive Order Resource Allocation Plan ahead of tonight’s rally in South Windsor:
“While I appreciate that East Hartford and East Windsor will receive their full education funding under the governor’s revised executive order, I am concerned about the deep cuts to education in many other municipalities throughout our state, including South Windsor and Ellington,” Sen. Larson said. “I think we can all agree the remedy for this is to have a budget that supersedes the governor’s executive order. Today, Democrats in the Senate caucused to continue our work producing a balanced budget that provides stability for Connecticut families.
“While Republicans continue to criticize and complain about the current circumstances, they have done little to contribute to the ultimate goal, which is passing a bipartisan budget that works for cities and towns across Connecticut. The partisan budget proposed by Senate Republicans earlier this year, crafted in secret, is unbalanced, illegal, and simply would not work. For example, to quote President Susan Herbst, the Senate Republican Budget devastates UCONN and the UCONN Health Center, cutting more than $118 million in fiscal year 18 and $172 million in fiscal year 19, for a total biennial cut of over $291 million. It also cuts scholarships for college students across the state by over 60 percent, or over $46 million over the biennium.
“It’s time for Republicans to step up and work with us to develop a balanced budget that reflect the reality of the SEBAC agreement. Allowing the governor to continue running the state by executive order is in no one’s best interest. The state’s current fiscal crisis was created by decades of poor choices by Democrats and Republicans. For my entire tenure in the legislature, it’s been only the Democrats who have stepped up and voted for budgets that have begun to correct this bad planning. I hope Republican legislators will break their more than 10-year-record of not voting for a budget and get to a place where they are willing to compromise in order to reach a bipartisan agreement.
“We must pass a budget that protects Connecticut’s core assets, including our public education system. I’ve always been an advocate for education; in fact, I am looking forward to attending the ribbon cutting of Orchard Hill Elementary School right here in South Windsor on Saturday, a $33.5 million project of which $11.26 million was funded by the state.”