As local officials in Chester, Deep River, and Essex are busy preparing budgets for the next fiscal year, Governor Ned Lamont’s proposed budget shows state aid remaining flat.

The state budgeting process is still in its early stages, and some numbers may change. The two-year state budget will be considered by the legislature, adjusted, and approved later in the spring or summer before the legislature is scheduled to adjourn its session on Wednesday, June 9.

Lamont, who on Feb. 10 released details of his two-year budget plan for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, recommended that state aid for Chester, Deep River, and Essex remain consistent with previous years.

Slight increases for municipalities are due to a second infusion of federal education funding to the state, through the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II).

These funds are distributed based on a federal formula, which assesses the percentage of low-income students in each school district.

Eligible expenses under ESSER II span several different areas, according to State Representative Christine Palm (D-36).

“Essentially, the funding can be used to address learning-loss, provide social-emotional support of the students and faculty, staff development, [and] purchasing technology or hardware,” said Palm. “There is a pretty long list provided it connects to responding to the pandemic.”

The Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant, which is a state formula for distributing state educational aid to local public-school districts, will remain at fixed levels.

The “freezing of ECS funding” is “better than reducing it, but I worry about what happens when federal COVID-related funds eventually run out and there is no cushion for our schools,” said Palm, who added that she is working to discern if there are any educational funding gaps.

“We are in close contact with [U.S.] Congressman [Joe] Courtney who continues to work on this issue on the federal level,” said Palm. “So, if there are these funding issues, we are working to identify them and do our best to address them. But it’s a group effort.”

Under guidelines from the federal government, the state was required to allocate 90 percent of the total $492,426,458 in ESSER II funds to local school districts. Including this second round of funding, the state has received a total of $603,494,517 in ESSER funds, according to the Connecticut State Department of Education.

The Numbers

Under the governor’s proposed budget, Chester will receive $51,888 in ESSER II funds, which accounts for a 4.5 percent increase in total state aid, from $1,088,456 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 to $1,140,344 for FY 2022 and FY 2023. The governor’s proposal also shows the town receiving $768,291 from the state’s Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant each year.

Deep River will receive $61,822 in ESSER II funds, which accounts for a three percent increase in total state aid, from $2,007,453 in FY 2021 to $2,069,275 for FY 2022 and FY 2023. The town’s ECS allocation would be $1,662,870 for each fiscal year.

The governor’s budget proposal also shows Essex receiving $31,070 in ESSER II funds, which accounts for a six percent increase in total municipal funding, from $445,366 in FY 2021 to $476,436 for FY 2022 and FY 2023. The ECS allocation for Essex is $103,926 for each fiscal year.