Likening the state’s technical school system to an “unwanted stepchild at the dinner table,” Sen. Thomas Gaffey said the system will no longer be ignored.
“They will get their just deserve,” said the education committee chairman from Meriden.
Tonight, Gaffey explained to his Senate colleagues why a broad-based bill meant to improve the state’s 16 technical schools is important. Technical school parents and staff have told him about a shortage of supplies and about students not being bused to job sites and athletic events because buses were not operable, he said. Last summer — just two weeks before the start of school, Gaffey said the schools were worried about teaching positions, athletic programs and extracurricular activities because a state budget has not been passed.
Gaffey’s bill would require the state Board of Education to hold a public hearing before closing or suspending the operation of a technical school. It would also require the technical school system’s superintendent to share statistics annually with lawmakers about the employment status of technical school graduates and about the adequacy of resources available to schools, and it would help the system secure state funding. If money is available, the State Bond Commission would be required to vote twice a year on whether to issue the system at least $2 million for general maintenance and trade and capital equipment.
Finally, the bill would require the state to replace any technical school bus that is 12 years old or older, of has been subject to an out-of-service order for two consecutive years for the same reason. The Courant reported in February that nearly 60 percent of the system’s buses had serious safety violations in 2009.
Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, said she supported the bill and believes that it will help restore the technical school system. Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, agreed. “The vo-tech schools should not be orphan schools in our system,” he said.
Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, however, said he was concerned about the provision that involves the State Bond Commission. Fasano said he worries that requiring the commission to vote on capital requests for the technical school system would chip away at the commission’s independent authority and could ultimately hurt other projects deserving of money.
Funding for technical school systems is not just another project, Gaffey responded. The state owns the technical schools and has the obligation to maintain building and provide equal educational opportunities for all students.
The Senate passed the technical school system bill unanimously. It now heads to the House.