HARTFORD – In the final days of the 2025 legislative session, State Senator Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox voted for a budget that delivers an additional $42.2 million for town aid and special education grants to Bridgeport.
-Bridgeport will receive an additional $37 million in town aid over the next two years, which includes $11 million each year in increased Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funds.
-Additionally, Bridgeport will receive $5.2 million in the newly developed Special Education and Expansion Development (SEED) grants.
Earlier this session, as Senate Chair of the Special Education Committee, Sen. Gadkar-Wilcox led passage of an immediate, additional $40 million allocation for special education reimbursement costs for municipalities for the current fiscal year.
At the end of each school year, municipalities can request a reimbursement from the state to cover the additional, unpredictable special education costs incurred throughout the year.
This budget allocates an additional $40 million in FY 26 and FY 27 for special education reimbursement costs, providing additional relief for local property taxpayers each year.
“This session as Senate Chair of the Special Education Committee, we spent hours listening to the stories of students, parents, teachers, administrators, town leaders and advocates and the resounding takeaway was that they needed more funding for services,” said Sen. Gadkar-Wilcox. “Today I take my first vote on a state budget and I am so proud that it includes a historic increase for special education funding that I helped deliver. This budget strengthens the partnership between the state and municipalities and I am thrilled to have helped to craft this critical investment that supports our students, parents, teachers and provides relief to local taxpayers.”
Investing in Connecticut’s Future
The budget also invests in early childhood education, targeted tax relief and more while remaining under the spending cap and projects state surpluses.
-A $250 tax refund for lower-income working families Earned Income Tax Credit program, which will benefit as many as 195,000 households
-$200 million into a newly created fund for birth to 5 early childcare education, creating additional slots and capping costs for families
-Projected state surpluses and continued investment in the state’s Rainy Day Fund
-Investing $76 million in nonprofits in the second year of the budget to support worker wages
-Tax credits supporting refundable personal income tax credits for home daycare owners and farm investments
-Fully funding Medicaid, with more than $400 million in increased funding to support the program 900,000 Connecticut residents rely on
-Investing $7 million in Connecticut Foodshare, helping feed hungry Connecticut families
Investing $3 million in heating assistance as federal programs may see funding reductions
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