Currently the state funds the entire cost of teacher pensions, a cost that amounts to a quarter of all state education spending annually. These payments are a subsidy of local district compensation packages.
On a per pupil basis, more of these dollars are allocated to the higher performing, more affluent, and less diverse districts that already pay significantly higher salaries and tend to retain their teachers for longer.
This pension financing system puts the districts with the greatest need at a systemic disadvantage in terms of compensating their teaching workforce.
Connecticut needs a legislative task force to analyze this financing system, with an eye toward fairness and sustainability.