Joseph Sikalovic, who said he serves on the Bridgeport Board of Education but was speaking for himself, urged state lawmakers to increase the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) base aid by $2,000 per pupil to address inflation and local budget shortfalls.

"The base aid has remained the same at 11,575 thousand dollars since 2013," Sikalovic said, arguing that the lack of inflationary adjustments forces repeated local cuts. He told board members that coordinated pressure on the governor and statewide advocacy by alliance and priority districts would be necessary to secure the increase.

Willie Medina, a member of Faith Act for Education and the NAACP who also said he serves on the Bridgeport public school board, echoed the call for collective action. Medina said Connecticut is effectively withholding what he characterized as about $6 billion and urged districts to work together rather than compete for scarce resources.

Both speakers urged listener involvement with community organizations and emphasized advocacy as the route to restoring stable funding. Their comments came during the public-comment portion of the Nov. 24 meeting and were referred to district administration for follow-up as the board does not respond directly during public comment.

Why it matters: Connecticut’s ECS formula determines a key portion of local school funding. Speakers tied stagnation in the base amount to the need for repeated local cuts and presented a specific funding target ($2,000 per pupil) as a concrete policy ask for state legislators and the governor.

What board members said: The board did not respond to public comment on the record; the chair reminded speakers that concerns raised during public comment would be referred to administration for review.