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New Canaan May Lose Education Funding Under Proposed Budget

DARIEN, Conn. -- Gov. Dannel Malloy released his updated budget proposal on Tuesday afternoon, April 12 -- and it contains education funding cuts that Rep. Terrie Wood says are unfair to Darien.

Rep. Terrie Wood is concerned about the fairness of funding cuts in the governor's proposed budget.

Rep. Terrie Wood is concerned about the fairness of funding cuts in the governor's proposed budget.

Photo Credit: Courtesy the Darien Historical Society

Wood said that the budget would completely cut Darien's Education Cost Sharing, or ECS, funding. Under Malloy's updated budget proposal, Darien's recommended amount of ECS funding went from over $1.3 million to zero, for 2016-2017. The proposed cuts are part of an effort to close an estimated budget deficit of over $900 million for the next fiscal year.

"Although this is only a proposal, this is a serious cause for concern," Wood said. "I understand that due to the current fiscal climate, tough decisions need to be made. But, we must remain rational and fair while making these decisions. This simply is not fair and it does a serious disservice to the town, that has already budgeted for this money."

Wood's office noted that several other Fairfield County towns would also lose all ECS funding -- including Easton, Greenwich, Fairfield, Redding, Ridgefield, Westport, Weston and New Canaan. The City of Norwalk would keep its entire budgeted amount of $11.5 million.

The 2016 legislative session adjourns at midnight on May 4.

As the representative for the 141th District, Wood represents Darien and Norwalk. Her website is here.

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