Senator Dodd stands up for Connecticut teachers

In response to today's Hartford Courant article on the possibility of 2,000 teachers receiving pick slips, Senator Chris Dodd issued the following statement:

"An investment in teachers is not only an investment in a quality education for all of Connecticut's children, but also an investment in our state's future prosperity," said Dodd. "Laying off teachers would create a ripple effect that could lead to program cuts and larger class sizes, which means less individual focus and teacher attention for all of our state's students."

That's why, in order to save our educators' jobs and to continue to strengthen Connecticut's school system, I've joined my colleagues to introduce the Keep Our Educators Working Act. This critical bill would provide for a $23 billion jobs fund to keep our teachers in the classroom-and build a better future for all of our children."

The Keep Our Educators Working Act would fund compensation, benefits, and other expenses necessary to retain existing employees, and for the hiring of new employees, in order to provide early childhood, elementary, secondary, or postsecondary educational and related services. Additionally, it would support on-the-job training activities for education-related careers.

Senator Dodd is a cosponsor of the Keep Our Educators Working Act, a bill that would create a fund which would be used to help save counselors, teachers, and principals jobs. Learn more about the bill by clicking here (pdf).