Extreme GOP Spending Cuts Would Kick 1,900 Connecticut Teachers Out of Classroom
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Republicans brought an extreme partisan funding bill to the House floor that decimates K-12 education and does not meaningfully prevent a government shutdown before the November 17 deadline.
The 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 5894), cuts funding by 80 percent for Title I education funding—which will butcher the public-school budgets of 95 percent of K-12 schools in eastern Connecticut. Congressman Courtney released a new report that demonstrates the devastating consequences of the cuts for almost all 69 school districts in Connecticut’s Second Congressional District.
“House Republicans’ education funding bill is exactly the opposite of what our region needs to give students a chance to succeed in life. An 80 percent cut to funding means slashing staff, increasing class sizes, and decreasing resources to almost every K-12 student in eastern Connecticut. In fact, this measure would lead to 1,900 Connecticut teachers losing their job,” said Rep. Joe Courtney, a senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. “This bill sends a clear message that Speaker Johnson is unwilling to prevent a government shutdown and put forth a serious budget that can actually pass. Bipartisanship is the only proven method to govern in a closely divided Congress—not partisan spending bills like the one before us today.”
Read how the proposed cuts will hurt school districts across the region here.