Winsted receives ECS boost from Malloy

WINSTED — Good news came to Winsted and many other Connecticut towns Wednesday morning, Feb. 8, when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced a $50 million increase in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funding to a majority of the state’s 169 towns.Winsted’s percentage increase matched the state average of 2.65 percent, with the town receiving an extra $207,371 for the 2011-12 school year.The increase comes at a time when the town is struggling to find money to meet the minimum budget requirement for Winchester Public Schools. Townspeople voted last May to approve an $18.6 million budget put forth by the Winchester Board of Selectmen, but state officials have said the budget is out of compliance by $1.3 million.The windfall from the state should help town officials make necessary adjustments to their books to close out the school year.Winsted’s ECS increase represents $150 per student, compared with the statewide average of $92 per student. In all, the statewide increase brings total ECS funding for Connecticut to more than $1.93 billion, up from $1.88 billion.Other towns in the Winsted area receiving increased ECS funding include Barkhamsted, which received a 2.38 percent increase of $38,488; Colebrook, 2.26 percent, $11,212; New Hartford, 0.74 percent, $23,197; and Torrington, 1.96 percent, $468,825.Cities and distressed communities around the state received the lion’s share of the money, with the governor’s hometown of Stamford receiving the largest percentage increase of 11.53 percent.

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