Connecticut

CT school districts make push for more state aid

Published

2 weeks ago

April 25, 2025

CT school districts make push for more state aid

As talks on the next state budget hit a new phase, local officials are ramping up their push for more education aid.

New Haven officials made a public plea Thursday, asking the state to give more help as the city’s education budget faces a $23 million shortfall.

“The governor and the state legislature are sitting on a huge pile of money and there’s an obsession by the governor with protecting the fiscal guardrails,” Mayor Justin Elicker (D-New Haven) said.

Other school officials are leaving the fiscal guardrail debate to lawmakers, but agree education aid should be the top priority.

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education President Leonard Lockhart said school districts are doing their part to keep costs down.

“At the same time, there’s a lot of unfunded things that are in there as well as just not enough funding to do the basic job of the school district,” said Lockhart, who is also on Windsor’s school board.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget proposal would add $85 million next year for Education Cost Sharing Grants, the state’s primary form of aid to school districts.

“One of governor Lamont’s top priorities is ensuring that our children have access to the best possible educational system,” Office of Policy and Management spokesman Chris Collibee said in a statement.

Collibee also noted that New Haven’s per-pupil ECS funding has increased by 17.8% since Lamont (D-Connecticut) took office because those grants have increased as enrollment has dropped.

Still, Democratic lawmakers say they want to do more.

The proposal they advanced out of the Appropriations Committee Tuesday included another $26.2 million above what Lamont suggested for ECS. It also includes an extra $124 million for a separate pool of aid for special education.

Sen. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) said the state will also need flexibility in the fiscal guardrails, a package of rules meant to limit state spending.

Lesser and other Democrats are also worried about additional cuts in federal aid as Republicans in Washington, D.C., have expressed a desire to slash federal aid.

Meanwhile, Attorney General William Tong (D-Connecticut) filed a lawsuit Friday to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to put conditions on education aid.

“We know that there are a lot of challenges coming to us from the federal government, including attacks on education funding, and so what we really need is just more flexibility,” Lesser said.

Republicans remain opposed to the increased spending or to changes to the guardrails.

Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) said many schools are facing shortfalls because they used pandemic-era aid to cover ongoing operating expenses.

He also said the guardrails created the same surplus others want to utilize, so those budget constraints should remain in place.

“They’re there for a reason,” Candelora said. “It’s not just to restrict spending, but it’s actually to allow us to pay down on unfunded liabilities and not get government into crisis.”

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Connecticut

CT Lottery Lucky For Life, Cash 5 winning numbers for May 11, 2025

Published

7 hours ago

May 12, 2025

Press Room

CT Lottery Lucky For Life, Cash 5 winning numbers for May 11, 2025

The Connecticut Lottery offers several draw games for those willing to make a bet to win big.

Those who want to play in Connecticut can enter the CT Lotto, Lucky for Life and Cash 5 games as well as play the national Powerball and Mega Millions games. There are also two drawings a day for the Play 3 with Wild Ball and Play 4 with Wild Ball games.

Drawings are held at regular days and times, check the end of this story to see the schedule. Here’s a look at Sunday, May 11, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 11 drawing

16-26-30-34-43, Lucky Ball: 06

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from May 11 drawing

01-03-09-27-29

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play3 numbers from May 11 drawing

Day: 8-0-0, WB: 0

Night: 0-4-8, WB: 0

Check Play3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play4 numbers from May 11 drawing

Day: 8-0-8-3, WB: 1

Night: 3-1-3-8, WB: 5

Check Play4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Connecticut Lottery prizes up to $599 can be easily claimed at any authorized CT Lottery Retailer without additional forms or documentation or by mail. For prizes between $600 and $5,000, winners have the option to claim by mail or in person at any CT Lottery High-Tier Claim Center or CT Lottery Headquarters. For prizes between $5,001 and $49,999, winnings must be claimed in person at the Connecticut Lottery headquarters or by mail. All prizes over $50,000 must be claimed in person at CT Lottery Headquarters. Winners are required to bring a government-issued photo ID and their Social Security card.

CT Lottery Claims Dept.

15 Sterling Drive

Wallingford, CT 06492

For additional details, including locations of High-Tier Claim Centers, visit the Connecticut Lottery’s claim information page.

When are the Connecticut Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. daily.
Lotto: 10:38 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
Cash 5: 10:29 p.m. daily.
Play3 Day: 1:57 p.m. daily.
Play3 Night: 10:29 p.m. daily.
Play4 Day: 1:57 p.m. daily.
Play4 Night: 10:29 p.m. daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Connecticut editor. You can send feedback using this form. Our News Automation and AI team would love to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us.

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Connecticut

Rite Aid is closing stores, including in Connecticut

Published

1 day ago

May 11, 2025

Press Room

Rite Aid is closing stores, including in Connecticut

The Rite Aid in your neighborhood might be closing. The U.S. pharmacy chain filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time and is closing or selling stores to a new owner.

Customers were surprised to see the Rite Aid on Main Street in Cheshire closed on Saturday.

“I pulled up here and I’m like ‘what happened?” asked Scott LaFlamme. “For a multi-billion dollar corporation to not let their consumers know what’s going on, that’s a very bad business.”

Pharmacy company Rite-Aid filed another bankruptcy protection after it was unable to secure additional capital from lenders. The company first filed for bankruptcy in 2023 to cut $2 billion dollar in debt. That’s when customers say they noticed the empty shelves.

“As a result of filing bankruptcy, they accumulated high debt,” said Patrice Luoma, Quinnipiac University Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy. “And when you have high debt, it makes it really hard to do anything. So you can’t they couldn’t really get inventory because their vendors said, ‘hey, you need to pay us on these really strict terms, otherwise we can’t supply you.’”

There were 13 Rite Aid stores left in Connecticut after the company closed dozens of stores last year. It’s unclear when the remaining stores will close, but prescriptions will be moved to another pharmacy.

In Cheshire, medication was transferred to the CVS on Highland Avenue.

“I just know they’re going to be overloaded because there are so many people that used Rite Aid, you know, where are you going to go?” asked Claire Newell.

The CVS is just down the road, but Newell said she’ll miss the pharmacists she’s come to know.

“If you take medication regularly, they’re so responsible about getting it for you and being right there in any questions,” she said. “It’s very, very sad.”

A sign was posted outside the CVS asking customers to be patient as they work with new customers during this transition.

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