Hartford parents and students march against school budget cuts

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Hartford parents and students marched to the state capitol Wednesday to get more funding for next school year’s budget.

Last week, the district passed a $429 million budget that cut 387 staff positions. Of those, 156 are teachers, and 158 positions are counseling, social work and administration jobs.

Parents and students gathered outside of Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy to start their march to the capitol.

“There’s no way that they’re going to be able to run the district with 400 less positions,” parent Constanza Segovia said.

Thirty-two staff will be at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy. News 8 spoke to juniors who said their senior year would be affected.

“I’m scared of what our senior year will look like,” Bella Pramanik said. “I’m scared of what will happen to our underclassmen.”

Kennianiz Irizarry, a student, said some teachers already know they will be let go, resulting in larger classes.

“We have a math teacher that is in charge of freshmen and sophomores, she will unfortunately, be leaving,” she said. “It will be up to three other teachers to take on not only seniors and juniors but also freshmen and sophomores.”

Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, superintendent of Hartford Public Schools, issued a statement:

“We designed our budget for the 2024-2025 school year, in collaboration with the community, with a focus on two key priorities: High Quality Instruction and Student Engagement and Connection to School. We are confident that we can continue to provide a rigorous academic experience for students along with opportunities for social and emotional growth. However, although we had a comprehensive, strategic plan for utilizing ESSER funding, due to the limited funds currently available, we were forced to make difficult decisions including reductions in programs, services, and staff, and therefore the 24-25 school year will look different for our HPS community.”

Families are hoping state representatives hear their concerns and will allocate more funding.

News 8 asked Speaker of the House of Representatives Matt Ritter about this. He said the state has given $18 million for next school year, and an additional $3 million to $5 million could be coming.

“The state has done a historic amount, maybe a little bit more,” he said. “Ultimately, you’re going to need the city to contribute money as well.”

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam’s deputy chief of staff released the following statement on Wednesday.

“Public education is deeply important to me, and Hartford is not alone in facing challenges brought on by sunsetting federal funds and rising employment costs. We’ve been coordinating with the Superintendent, HPS officials and our City Council to identify a path forward for our school system to adapt and meet the needs of our students while preserving the City’s ability to provide services without raising taxes.”

Letters to staff losing their jobs will be sent on April 30.

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