NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A new report is highlighting deep economic and racial disparities across Connecticut’s public school districts, ranking the state among the most segregated in the country.

The study by the nonprofit Brown’s Promise found Connecticut has some of the nation’s most pronounced divides — placing sixth worst for economic segregation and 11th for racial segregation.

Researchers measured economic segregation by the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

According to the report, some of the highest concentrations of low-income students are found in districts just miles from the state’s wealthiest communities.

“We provide this measure of how much is it happening between districts, like across those district lines, versus inside districts like what you would find in larger school districts,” said Stephen Owens, a researcher with Brown’s Promise.

The findings may seem surprising, as Connecticut and other Northeastern states show higher levels of segregation than some Southern states that once legally enforced it.

But Owens said those historic boundaries — and the way communities developed — continue to shape access to education today.

“If your schools were built out of like the lines of the towns, the municipality, then it means that the residential patterns, where people choose to live or where they grew up, end up being copied right onto the schools,” he said.

State and local leaders across the political spectrum have long acknowledged with variations of a phrase that has become alarmingly common.

“You are essentially going to attend the school where your ZIP code is,” House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said poverty plays a central role.

“It has nothing to do with the quality of education being provided. It has everything to do with poverty,” Elicker said.

Efforts to address the issue have long been debated at the state Capitol.

To varying degrees, Democrats have pushed for increased education funding, progressives often jousting with moderates about size and scale. Republicans tend to emphasize the charter school model. There is bipartisan agreement that the state’s current education aide system needs to be retooled.

Gov. Ned Lamont acknowledged the challenge, saying the state must continue working toward improvement.

“You’ve got to try every day to do better,” the Democrat said.

The issue is expected to play a major role in Connecticut’s upcoming gubernatorial race, with the three candidates offering their own solutions.

If a bear is encountered, officials urge people to remain calm and avoid running.

Instead, speak in a calm voice, slowly back away while keeping the animal in sight, and make yourself appear larger by raising your arms or moving to higher ground.

If a bear continues to approach, DEEP recommends becoming more assertive by shouting, making loud noises, and throwing objects such as rocks or sticks.

While black bear attacks are rare, officials stress that people should never play dead during an attack.

“If attacked by a black bear, fight back vigorously,” DEEP advises. People should use any available object and focus defensive actions on the bear’s face and muzzle.

A man has been arrested for murder in connection with the death of a Duxbury, Massachusetts woman, months after her body was found in a Connecticut home under suspicious circumstances. 

This week, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for Janina Brooke Murphy to be blunt force injury of head and the manner, homicide.

On Tuesday, Connecticut State Police arrested 28-year-old Cole Werhan of Burlington, Connecticut and charged him with murder. 

Brooke Murphy, as she is referred to by her mother, was found at the bottom of a staircase in March inside the Burlington, Connecticut home where she was living. At the time, Connecticut State Police called the 26-year-old’s death suspicious.

“Another detective got on the phone. He said, ‘I want you to know something. Your daughter didn’t just fall down the stairs. She had wounds all over her,’” Brooke’s mother, Beth Murphy, told WBZ. 

Murphy said her daughter and Werhan were dating, and she is determined to seek justice. “It’s confirmed, it wasn’t an accident. So that part, really, that’s tough,” Murphy said.

Murphy described her daughter as kind and artistic. 

“So many people said she was my best friend. Like, pretty much everybody said Brooke was my best friend. She had a heart of gold,” Murphy said.

Brooke Murphy’s 27th birthday fell on June 17. Connecticut State Police said they are continuing to actively investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

Werhan was held on a $5,000,000 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in Torrington Superior Court in Connecticut on Wednesday morning.