Robert A. Frahm

At the request of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut State University System trustees Monday reduced the size of raises granted this month to Chancellor David G. Carter and the presidents of CSU's four campuses.

The officials were allowed to keep 5 percent cost-of-living increases, but the Board of Trustees Executive Committee rescinded an additional raise of about 5 percent that was considered a "pay equity" adjustment based on a consultant's compensation study. Read more

Gov. M. Jodi Rell asked Connecticut State University officials Friday to reduce pay raises granted this month to top managers, calling the raises "excessive" and "intolerable" in light of the state’s fiscal crisis.

She also said she will order a study of the possible elimination of the central office of the 36,500-student system.

The governor took the action a day after the Mirror disclosed that raises, some as large as 10 percent, had been granted to non-union managers, including high-ranking officials such as Chancellor David G. Carter and the presidents of CSU's four campuses. Read more

The academic standards used in Connecticut's public schools for the last two decades are "among the worst in the country," according to a report being issued today.

The good news is, new national standards being adopted by the state are far superior, the report says.

The state standards--essentially guidelines for curriculum development in public schools--received a grade of "D" for both mathematics and English from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington, D.C. group that advocates standards-based accountability for the nation's schools. Read more

The release of Connecticut Mastery Test results today marks the 25th anniversary of a multi-million dollar testing program that critics and supporters alike agree has sharply altered the course of public education across the state.

The annual exam shaped curriculum, spurred classroom drills, provided evidence in lawsuits, and grabbed the attention of politicians, parents and even real estate agents. Read more

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont's plan for aggressive reforms in Connecticut's schools includes a shakeup in education leadership, starting with the State Board of Education and, possibly, the state's top education official.

The plan calls for removing "partisan appointees" on state boards governing education and higher education, replacing them with "people who are really committed to education [and] education reform, people who've been involved in the schools," Lamont said Thursday. Read more

A literature course featuring 20th-century female authors is not standard fare at most high schools, yet Maggie Court earned credit at Rocky Hill High School this year by taking the course on her home computer.

"It was really cool for me," said Court, 17, who will be a senior in the fall at Rocky Hill, one of dozens of public and private schools joining a growing online education movement in Connecticut. "I thought it was a great opportunity."

To save money while expanding curriculums, schools are going virtual. Read more

When Connecticut State University Chancellor David Carter came under fire from legislators last month, the head of CSU's Board of Trustees issued a memo defending him, saying, among other things, that Carter had trimmed central office staff by nearly a third since his appointment in 2006.

And in fact Carter cut the staff by more than 28 percent as of this fiscal year, according to the legislature's Office of Fiscal Analysis. But personal services costs for the central office still increased by 14 percent in the same period, fueled in part by double-digit raises for Carter and top members of his staff.

The raises far outpaced the rate of inflation and the growth in pay for faculty and other employees. The largest raises went to Carter, whose annual base salary rose from $247,505 in 2006-2007 to $362,733 two years later, a 46.6 percent increase.

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When his father lost his job, Robert Hermann faced the prospect of adding to his already huge student loan debt. But he caught a break last year when he told University of Connecticut officials of his financial pinch.

The university tapped into a new $1 million emergency fund set aside for juniors and seniors facing sudden hardships. Hermann, who will be a senior in the fall, received $5,600 from the university.

Like public and private schools across the nation, UConn is seeing a surge of applicants for financial aid, including many whose families have lost jobs or homes during the nation's deep economic slump. Read more

STORRS - In the face of a deepening financial crisis, University of Connecticut trustees adopted a budget Thursday that seeks to promote austerity while preserving quality - an increasingly difficult challenge.

Officials warned of even more ominous times ahead as trustees approved a $1.03 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The budget, the first to top the $1 billion mark, is 4.8 percent larger than this year's budget for UConn's main and regional campuses. Read more