Kevin Brown

K-12 needed more resources, so we prioritized educational spending and special education funding in the new two-year balanced and bipartisan state budget approved by the House of Representatives.
 
We make historic investments in local education through Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funds, which helps reduce local property taxes and makes it easier for our urban schools to recruit and retain teachers as peer educators.

Vernon is set to receive $21,344,994 for Fiscal Year 24, and $22,291,766 for Fiscal Year 25.

Below is a breakdown of some of those numbers:
 

• $135 million will be provided to our state colleges and universities
• $22 million to expand debt-free community college
• $24 million to increase funding for special education to local schools
• $6.5 million to prevent towns from receiving a funding cut to their local schools
• $67.5 million to increase childcare provider rates
• $240 million will be invested in public education for the 2024-25 school year:
• Caps tuition payments that local districts pay for kids attending choice programs
• $158 million in new funding to local boards of education
• $9.3 million in new funding for Charter Schools
• $53.3 million in new funding for Magnet Schools
• $11.4 million new budget for Open Choice
• $7.2 million in new funding for Vocational Agriculture programs

I am grateful for your input and for all the hard work my colleagues put into producing a balanced budget that reflects some of state's greatest needs. In the coming weeks, I will further break down provisions in the budget and how it impacts you.

If you have any questions or comments about this or any other legislation, please reach out to my office.