I have worked hard at the State Capitol to increase state support for our local schools and, together with the other New Britain legislators, won millions of dollars of increased education aid to benefit our city's kids.
But other cities, like New Haven and Hartford, have taken advantage of additional resources that New Britain has not - interdistrict magnet school funding. Since we have the largest high school in the state, the fact that New Britain has choosen not to receive this important funding is unfortunate - unfortunate for New Britain's kids.
With the state interdistrict magnet program, communities like New Britain can receive state funding to build and operate interdistrict magnet schools. Even though the schools have students from more than one town, most of the students are from the "host" community - the city operating the schools. New Britain can receive these resources by choosing to be a host community.
This program has been the biggest opportunity made available for cities to enhance the education for their kids - but New Britain has chosen not to be a part of it.
All of the years that New Britain has watched as other cities got these resources have taken away opportunities for New Britain's kids. In fact, at the State Capitol, there has been serious discussion of stopping the creation of new magnet schools. As a state legislator, I strongly advocated to keep the program open long enough for New Britain to receive its benefit - something that our city should have had the leadership to get done long ago and must now before it is too late.
This is why, as Mayor, I will strongly advocate for New Britain to apply for the state funding for multiple magnet schools, to relieve school crowding, provide new education opportunities for our city's kids and bring more education resources into New Britain. We have a lot of catching-up to do, but I will get it done.
It is just the right thing to do.
With the state interdistrict magnet program, communities like New Britain can receive state funding to build and operate interdistrict magnet schools. Even though the schools have students from more than one town, most of the students are from the "host" community - the city operating the schools. New Britain can receive these resources by choosing to be a host community.
This program has been the biggest opportunity made available for cities to enhance the education for their kids - but New Britain has chosen not to be a part of it.
All of the years that New Britain has watched as other cities got these resources have taken away opportunities for New Britain's kids. In fact, at the State Capitol, there has been serious discussion of stopping the creation of new magnet schools. As a state legislator, I strongly advocated to keep the program open long enough for New Britain to receive its benefit - something that our city should have had the leadership to get done long ago and must now before it is too late.
This is why, as Mayor, I will strongly advocate for New Britain to apply for the state funding for multiple magnet schools, to relieve school crowding, provide new education opportunities for our city's kids and bring more education resources into New Britain. We have a lot of catching-up to do, but I will get it done.
It is just the right thing to do.
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