Testifying Monday in Hartford, Mayor Bill Finch told the legislature’s education committee he supports a bill that would allow parents to “trigger” change in failing schools as well as a bill that would allow funds to follow students to public schools. He said charter schools are where the excitement is and that they deserve more than the “75 cents on the dollar” that they get now. He said parents in Bridgeport feel helpless and need other options.
Raised bill 5493 would allow state charter schools to be eligible for state funding to the same extent as local and regional boards of education. Bill 5491 would let parents vote to restructure a school that has been identified as in need of improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act and create other reforms designed to narrow the achievement gap between students and give the state a better shot at federal grant money.
