State Senator Thomas J. Herlihy, R-Simsbury, today announced that the town of Simsbury would be receiving an increase of over $800,000 in state education funding over the next fiscal year.  According to Sen. Herlihy, the increase in funding is contained in the revised state budget that passed the Senate today by a vote of 35-1.  The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives yesterday, now goes to Governor M. Jodi Rell where she is expected to sign the measure into law.

“This is extremely good news for the Town of Simsbury,” said Sen. Herlihy.  “As ranking member of the legislature’s Education Committee, one of my top priorities has been to make sure that suburban towns like Simsbury get their fair share of ECS funding.  This grant is substantial, and through the efforts of the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) the leaders of the Education and Appropriations Committees and Rep. Rob Heagney (R-16), I am grateful that this additional funding has been appropriated.”

OPM Secretary Robert Genuario credited Sen. Herlihy for his diligence on the issue. “I have known Tom for quite some time and for many years he has been fighting for equity in the ECS formula.  A year ago I offered Senator Herlihy some hope and indicated that his efforts to increase the share of ECS funding to towns like Simsbury would not be in vain,” said Genuario.  “I’m delighted that we accomplished our goal in this budget.”

The Senate chairman of the legislature’s Education Committee, Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, noted the importance of the legislation; “Increased funding for education speaks to two priorities we have in state government, providing first-rate educational opportunities for Connecticut students, and providing cities and towns with as much aid as possible to assist with the financial burden of doing so,” Senator Gaffey said. “This additional funding for Simsbury is an important investment in our future because it’s an investment in education and in community, two of the fundamental building blocks of a healthy state.” said Sen. Gaffey.

Sen. Herlihy said that under the current state budget passed last year, the town of Simsbury received just under $2.4 million in state aid for FY 06.  In the revised budget, the town will now receive over $3.2 million in state funding for FY 07.  “I don’t know of a more important investment we can make for our communities and most importantly for our children.  There has been a lot of debate regarding the fairness of the ECS formula, and it is my hope that this is an indication that we are moving in a direction of equity for all towns,” said Sen. Herlihy.