Budget Advocacy

Your Voice Matters!

For the 2026-27 school year, CSDNB is now facing a proposed overall reduction in education funding that would be catastrophic for our district and the students we serve. Without substantial additional support from the State and City, the Board of Education will be forced to make significant reductions in staffing, programs, and student services. You can help. It is critical that our elected officials hear from community members who support strong public schools and the children of New Britain.

We encourage you to send a polite, respectful, and informed message to our elected officials. Let them know that you are an active community member and that you support funding our schools.

Presentation Materials

P repared Presentation for City Council

(Posted 5.7.26)

Potential CSDNB Reductions in Staffing and
Programming Due to Budget

(Posted 4.23.26)

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Progress, Priorities, and Investment

CSDNB is at a financial crossroads. While we are grateful for the City’s support in recent years, our per-student funding remains among the lowest in the state compared to peer districts, a reality that has required long-standing reductions in services and programs. Even so, key indicators such as student learning, attendance, and college credit attainment are trending positively. This proposed budget reflects the challenge of flat state Alliance District funding following years of increases that helped offset rising costs. With no excess remaining to cut, this request represents the minimum funding necessary to maintain current staffing, resources, and programs; any reduction would result in unavoidable impacts to services for students.

Flip through the Budget Narrative below or click here to view it full screen.

Click here to view the Spanish Budget Narrative in full screen.

Click here to view the Arabic Budget Narrative in full screen.

Who to Contact

At the State level:

Senator Rick Lopes, lopes@senatedems.ct.gov
Representative Manny Sanchez, manny.sanchez@cga.ct.gov
Representative Iris Sanchez, iris.sanchez@cga.ct.gov
Representative David DeFronzo, dave.defronzo@cga.ct.gov
Representative Gary Turco, gary.turco@cga.ct.gov
Senator Douglas McCrory, Co-Chair, Education Committee douglas.mccrory@cga.ct.gov
Representative Jennifer Leeper, Co-Chair, Education Committee, jennifer.leeper@cga.ct.gov
Senator Cathy Osten, Co-Chair, Appropriations Committee, catherine.osten@cga.ct.gov
Representative Toni Walker, Co-Chair, Appropriations Committee, toni.walker@cga.ct.gov

At the local level:
To contact members of the New Britain Common Council, email addresses can be found here: https://www.newbritainct.gov/gov/common-council/members

Sample Advocacy Letters

Sample Letter to State Legislators
Sample Letter to Members of Common Council

Sample Letter to State Legislators

Subject: Protecting the "Green Shoots" of Success in New Britain Schools

Dear [Legislator Name],

I am writing as a New Britain parent to urge your support for equitable ECS funding. Our schools are demonstrating remarkable resilience and success, but these gains are fragile.

Under the current administration, elementary schools’ standardized test scores are strongly improving. Last year, New Britain High School students earned college credit for 640 courses. NBHS is now offering 17 UConn Early College Experience courses, allowing our students to earn transferable college credits before they even graduate. Students leave our career academies with certificates that allow them to enter directly into well paid jobs.

These are the "green shoots" of a district on the rise. However, we cannot sustain this momentum if our funding shrinks in real terms. The ECS foundation amount of $11,525 has remained flat since 2013, while inflation has eroded our purchasing power by roughly 39%.

For an urban district like ours, this gap forces impossible choices between maintaining student supports and balancing the budget. I respectfully ask that you advocate for an ECS update that accounts for these inflationary costs. Please help us protect the success our students have fought so hard to achieve.

Sincerely,

[Parent Name] [Address/Voting District]

Sample Letter to Members of Common Council

Subject: "Watering the Green Shoots" – A Call for Local Investment in Our Schools

Dear Alder [Last Name] / Member of the Common Council,

As a New Britain resident and parent, I am writing to ask the Common Council to break the cycle of flat-funding our schools and provide a meaningful increase in the local contribution to the Board of Education budget.

Our schools are finally showing what Superintendent Gasper calls "green shoots". Under the current administration, elementary schools’ standardized test scores are strongly improving. Last year, New Britain High School students earned college credit for 640 courses. NBHS is now offering 17 UConn Early College Experience courses, allowing our students to earn transferable college credits before they even graduate. Students leave our career academies with certificates that allow them to enter directly into well paid jobs.

However, we cannot sustain this growth if New Britain continues to rank near the bottom of the state in local investment. Currently, our city ranks 160th out of 165 districts in local per-pupil funding. For too long, the city’s direct appropriation to the schools has remained stagnant at approximately $128 million, forcing the district to rely heavily on variable state aid and temporary grants just to keep the lights on.

We cannot expect superior results with bottom-tier local investment. I urge you to support a budget that "waters these green shoots" with stable, recurring local revenue, rather than another year of flat-funding.

Sincerely,

[Parent Name] [Address/Ward]