Did Our Legislators Bring Home Extra School Money? Here's What I Found
For several years, I've asked our state senator, Paul Cicarella, and our state representative, Dave Yaccarino, to help North Haven get more state money for our schools. This year, our school budget was cut and we lost 28 positions needed. Some people tell me our legislators have been working hard on school funding. I wanted to see the proof, so I looked at state laws, grant announcements and Board of Education meetings from 2021 to 2026.
The short answer: In six years, I found one special break for North Haven schools in state law: $2.6 million in 2025. That wasn't new money for our schools. It was debt forgiveness: the state agreed to drop a $2.6 million bill it said North Haven owed for costs on the High School construction project (the one finished in 2005) that didn't qualify for reimbursement. Rep. Yaccarino says he got it done and I believe him. Sen. Cicarella has not claimed any part in it. Beyond that, North Haven got no special help with school buildings and no new school funding passed by either legislator, while many nearby towns got help year after year.
First, how state school money works
When a town builds or fixes a school, the state pays back part of the cost. This is called reimbursement. Each town gets a set rate based on a formula. Right now, North Haven gets back about 38 cents on the dollar for renovations and about 31 cents for new buildings. Our taxpayers pay the rest. (Board of Education meeting, Dec. 11, 2025)
That rate is automatic. Our legislators don't have to do anything for us to get it. So I looked for money on top of the regular rate. There are two main ways to get it:
A special section in a state law. Every year, the state passes a big school construction bill. Legislators can add sections that help one town, for example by paying for costs the state normally won't cover, or by giving a town a break on the rules.
Grants. The governor and the State Bond Commission hand out grants for local projects. Legislators often ask for these and announce them. Some grants are competitive, which means towns apply and compete.
Some people say our legislators can't do much because they're Republicans and Democrats run Hartford. I don't accept that. I'm a Democrat in the minority on North Haven's Board of Education (speaking on behalf of myself only), and I don't get to say "the other party is in charge, so it's not my job." Being in the minority means you have to work harder: file the bills, find co-sponsors from both parties, and keep showing up. Republican legislators from other towns did exactly that and won help for their schools. Greenwich's Republican senator, Ryan Fazio, filed a bill for Central Middle School in 2024, and Greenwich got a special section for that project in that year's law saving the Greenwich taxpayers (!?!?!) an additional $15 million. Ashford's Republican senator, Jeff Gordon, co-filed a bill for Ashford School in 2025, and Ashford got its own section in 2025. This reimburses the Ashford school at about $0.65 on every dollar.Good for them, I guess.
What they helped bring home
$2.6 million for the high school (2025). Years ago, the state decided some costs from building North Haven High School didn't qualify for reimbursement. That meant North Haven owed the state $2.6 million. In 2025, a section of the state bond law said North Haven could be paid back for those costs after all (Public Act 25-174, Section 157). The town's auditor later confirmed the $2.6 million debt was "forgiven by the state" (Board of Finance, Jan. 21, 2026).
Rep. Yaccarino says he made this happen: "I worked hard in the subcommittee and with my colleagues to get this funding included in the final package" (North Haven News, June 5, 2025). He should get credit for it. But it's worth being clear about what it was: it cleared an old debt from a project finished years ago. It did not add a dollar to this year's school budget. Sen. Cicarella has not said publicly that he played any part in it.
Grants that help our schools in part. Both legislators announced these:
When | What | Amount | Helps schools how? |
2022 | State grant for town athletic fields (Patch) | $250,000 | Includes Board of Education fields and tennis courts |
2024 | State grant for Bailey Road and DeMayo athletic complexes (North Haven News) | $500,000 | Sen. Cicarella called them "the Board of Education's athletic fields" |
2025 | Competitive grant for sidewalks (North Haven News) | $784,000 | Safer walking route from Town Center to the middle and high schools |
The two field grants were later combined into one $750,000 project (Parks & Recreation minutes, Jan. 21, 2025). To be fair about who did what: the governor approves these grants, and the town did a lot of the work, too. The town applied for the sidewalk grant. Legislators usually push for grants behind the scenes, so we can't say exactly how much each one did.
One more important note. I sincerely appreciate the field grants, but I am not sure who asked for them within the Board of Education in order to attribute these costs to the BOE. They went through the town, and the town manages the project, as Parks & Recreation Commission records show (minutes, Jan. 21, 2025). What I have asked our legislators for was help fixing the state's school aid formula, called the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula. That's the money that pays for teachers and classrooms every year. Better fields don't keep a teacher in a classroom, though they are very nice.
What didn't happen
One special break in six years. I read the state's school construction laws for every year from 2021 to 2026 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026). Together they have about 105 special sections that help a single town. North Haven got one, the $2.6 million. In just the last two years, our neighbors Branford, North Branford, Woodbridge, Meriden, West Haven and Cheshire all got at least one.
Asking for help didn't always work. In 2024, the school district asked to use its own leftover cafeteria money to add air conditioning to elementary school cafeterias. The state said no. Rep. Yaccarino gave advice on how to ask again, but the state said no a second time (BOE, May 9, 2024; BOE, Aug. 8, 2024). In 2026, a board member said Rep. Yaccarino told him North Haven didn't get much funding because "Hartford says you're top heavy" (BOE budget workshop, May 26, 2026). This one baffles me. We have fewer administrators per pupil compared to our peers, the state average, and other neighboring towns. We have lower PPE (per pupil expenditure) compared to our peers and the state average. This explanation doesn’t pass the sniff test.
Other towns' legislators file bills for their schools. Sen. Fazio (R) filed a bill for Greenwich's Central Middle School (SB 60, 2024), and Greenwich got a special section for it (Public Act 24-151, Section 182). Sen. Gordon (R) co-filed a bill for Ashford School (HB 5887, 2025), and Ashford got one too (Public Act 25-174, Section 152). Cheshire's legislators filed bills for two elementary schools (HB 5747, 2025), and Cheshire won a break on the state's school size rules (Public Act 25-174, Sections 153–154). I found no bills like this for North Haven schools from either of our legislators from 2021 to 2026.
Sen. Cicarella's recordSen. Cicarella's record is the hardest to explain.
He has shown he knows how to pass a bill. In 2021, he gathered 56 sponsors from both parties for a bill on ice cream truck safety, and it became law (SB 608). He never put that kind of effort into school funding. |
Blame Hartford, take the credit
Here's the pattern that bothers me most. When North Haven doesn't get enough, the answer is "Hartford." When money does come, it's announced as their win, even when the majority wrote the bill or approved the grant.
When money falls short, it's Hartford's fault. At a May 2026 budget workshop, a Board of Education member said Rep. Yaccarino told him, "You didn't get a lot of funding this year because Hartford says you're top heavy." He never got an answer about who said it or what it meant (NHTV video). In his 2026 candidate profile, Sen. Cicarella runs against "one-size-fits-all mandates from Hartford" (Patch, Oct. 16, 2026).
When money comes, they take the credit.
The $2.6 million for the high school was in the 2025 bond bill. That bill was written and introduced by the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate (HB 7288 sponsors). The headline still read "Rep. Dave Yaccarino Secures $2.6 Million." Rep. Yaccarino did call it "a team effort."
The field grants were approved by the State Bond Commission, which is chaired by Gov. Lamont, a Democrat. Our legislators announced them and thanked the governor (North Haven News, 2024).
In his 2026 candidate profile, Sen. Cicarella says, "I secured needed funding for our schools and communities." He doesn't name a single grant, bill or dollar amount for North Haven schools (Patch, Oct. 16, 2026).
How they voted. Both voted yes on the bond bills that carried these grants (2025 Senate vote, 2025 House vote). But both voted no on the 2025 state budget, which sets the school aid North Haven is getting this year (Senate vote, House vote). They also voted no on the 2022 budget update, and yes on the 2023 budget and the 2026 budget update.
You can't have it both ways. If the majority is to blame when North Haven comes up short, the majority deserves the credit when the money comes through. If our legislators want credit, they also have to own the shortfalls, including the year we laid off 28 people.
What we should ask for next
North Haven is planning new or updated elementary schools. Our schools are bigger than the state's size rules allow, and that would lower how much the state pays back. The district's consultant said we'll need the state to give us a break on those rules (BOE, Dec. 11, 2025).
Cheshire got exactly that kind of break by law in 2025. North Haven can too, but only if someone files the bill, finds co-sponsors from both parties, and pushes until it's in the final law. The $2.6 million shows it can be done. It shouldn't take nine years of asking to get there.
This year, we are operating at 28 fewer adults in schools compared to what we need. Our families deserve legislators who treat school funding as their top job, not one they get to once in six years.
The election is Tuesday, November 3. Look at the record, ask questions, and vote.
Amanda Gabriele is a member of the North Haven Board of Education and serves on the North Haven Democratic Town Committee. She writes here as a resident and DTC member, not on behalf of the Board of Education.
Sources
State laws (Connecticut General Assembly)
News and town records
Meeting videos (NHTV)
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