Legislative Alert - A Call to Action from the Connecticut Federation of Catholic School Parents

LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Dear Catholic School Parents:

On April 19, 2013, the Appropriations Committee of the General Assembly proposed a 70% cut to the funding for Catholic School Bus Transportation -- a cut from $3,595000 to $719,100.

This legislative action represents an extremely unfair reduction of funding and places an undue burden on the parents of Catholic School students:

• The Appropriations Committee should better appreciate that for years our Catholic Schools have saved the State about $360M each year.
• The Appropriations Committee should better appreciate that our parents also pay their fair share of local property taxes -- and it is only right that they should receive some assistance for the transportation of many of our students.
• The Appropriations Committee should better appreciate that our Catholic Schools will lose many students if bus transportation is taken away. This hurts not only our students and their families, but our schools as well.
• The Appropriations Committee should better appreciate that Public Schools costs will increase when the local and regional Boards of Education are forced to absorb our students when they leave our schools.

THE GOOD NEWS:  We, as Catholic School Parents, have a chance to reverse the Appropriations Committee's unfair reductions of these funds before the final State Budget is approved in late May/early June.

THIS ALERT IS A "CALL TO ACTION," SO PLEASE:

ALL PARENTS, STUDENTS AND FRIENDS OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND EACH OF THE FOLLOWING KEY LEGISLATIVE LEADERS AT THE STATE CAPITOL AND ASK THEM TO REVERSE THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE CUTS TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION. THE CONTACT INFORMATION IS BELOW:

Governor Dannel Malloy

Governor.Malloy@ct.gov

860-566-4840

Senator Don Williams, Senate President

Williams@senatedems.ct.gov

860-240-8600

Senator Martin Looney, Majority Leader

looney@senatedems.ct.gov

860-240-8600

Rep. Brendan Sharkey, House Speaker

brendan.sharkey@cga.ct.gov

860-240-8500

Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, House Majority Leader

joe.aresimowicz@senatedems.ct.gov

860-240-8500

Senator Toni Harp, Appropriations Committee Chair

harp@senatedems.ct.gov

Rep. Toni Walker, Appropriations Committee Chair

toni.walker@cga.ct.gov

860-240-8500