Mayor’s funding of Bridgeport scholarship program sparks questions and criticism

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BRIDGEPORT Mayor Joseph Ganim has committed $500,000 to a new college scholarship for local students based on similar programs in Waterbury, New Haven and Hartford, but with few details on how the money will will be spent, some city officials are questioning Ganims’ motives, especially ahead of the upcoming election.

Given the opportunity to explain how the scholarships would be distributed and respond to criticism that the city should first fully regain its primary and secondary education programs, Ganim said the program, a budget item of the Office of Mayors 2023-24, would help launch students into successful academic careers.

But according to State Senator Marilyn Moore, one of Ganim’s opponents in the upcoming mayoral race, $500,000 for a scholarship program is too little to make a meaningful impact in Bridgeport.

$500,000 is far from what you would need to run this program for Bridgeport, and I’m putting several million dollars for a year to start the program, Moore said in a phone call with CT Examiner.

Moore, who said he took note of the New Haven Promise, Hartford Promise and Waterbury Promise programs, had planned a similar program for Bridgeport. But rather than spend city funds, Moore said she is seeking funding in the 2024-25 state budget.

Half a million isn’t going to do anything, Moore said of Ganims’ budget. It looks like something.

The Promise Scholarships, which began in 2005 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, offer two- and four-year tuition scholarships, but vary by city. In New Haven, scholarships have been funded primarily by Yale University since the program began in 2010. In Hartford, the program, which began in 2014, has been primarily funded by private donors. This funding was recently supplemented with a $1 million contribution from the city. In Waterbury, a city contribution of $1 million to fund the new program will be matched by UConn, Eastern Connecticut State University and Post University.

But Moore said Bridgeport doesn’t have the resources to support a Promise program without state funding.

For New Haven, they have Yale helping them. And Hartford has great companies that can help them, Moore said. But Bridgeport, we don’t.

Moore said she would rather see the $500,000 go to the public school system.

Joseph Sokolovic, who chairs the Board of Education’s finance committee, said the same thing.

I’m all for college funding if the municipality could afford it,” Sokolovic said. Mayor Ganim needs to fund K-12 education so our kids can go to college before we do all of this.

Sokolovic also asked if the scholarship was a way for Ganim to appease voters ahead of the next election season, especially given a recent reduction in the school’s budget request.

This being an election year, a shiny new program could make people cringe, Sokolovic said. There always seems to be some deviation or misdirection of the budget.

The school board requested an additional $12.4 million in city funding for the 2023-24 budget over the previous year for core services such as staff salaries, benefits, transportation and sports. But in its proposed budget, Ganim reduced the request from $12.4 million to $2 million.

Sokolovic said it was problematic that Bridgeport Promise funds were a mayoral line item and wondered how the money would be spent.

How will these funds be distributed? Who will qualify? What is the process the mayor is going to use to distribute that $500,000? Sokolovic asked.

The three existing Promise programs in Connecticut have taken varying approaches to distributing funds. Waterbury Promise, the program that Moore says would work best for Bridgeport has an 11-member board of directors made up of Mayor Neil O’Leary, a former member of the Board of Education, lawyers and educators to determine beneficiaries of the subsidies.

Waterbury Promise executive director Kelonda Maull told CT Examiner that the program is funded by $500,000 from the city budget, $500,000 from the Waterbury Schools budget and private funds from the Cigna Foundation.

Maull said she supported Bridgeports’ push for a scholarship program and was happy to see funds set aside, but said she also recognizes the need for additional funding.

It will also take some private money to come in, Maull said of Bridgeport.

Maull said the Waterbury Promise is encouraging public school students to return to the city, supporting the workforce and the economy. For Bridgeport to do the same, she said city officials need to make sure the program is sustainable.

According to New Haven Promise President Patricia Melton, who spoke with CT Examiner on Monday, the scholarship program has increased the public high school graduation rate from 60 percent in 2010 to 80 percent.

Applicants who have attended New Haven Public Schools for their entire high school career, have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, have completed at least 40 hours of community service, and hold a 90% attendance record are automatically eligible for a Promise grant.

Melton said Bridgeport Promise was a long time coming and looked forward to more programs to follow.

I think the more Promise programs we have in Connecticut cities is a strategy to really strengthen our economy, keep our students here, and invest in Connecticut for the many job vacancies.

Hartford Promise President Richard Sugarman said his program is unique in the state in that it funds every qualified student enrolling in any college or university in the country.

Sugarman said he has helped other cities with their programs and advised Bridgeport officials to work together on their scholarships.

It must be a full partnership [between] the city, the school system, the citizens, the neighborhoods to make it work in any city, Sugarman said.

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