The state board of education on Wednesday voted unanimously to uphold a ruling made last month that area school districts don't have to pay the tuition for children in their districts who attend magnet preschools in the Hartford area.
In a lawsuit last year, Region 10 school district of Harwinton, Region 16 of Beacon Falls and Prospect, Barkhamsted Board of Education, New Hartford Board of Education, along with Newington and Ellington school districts, challenged the bills they were receiving from the state education department to fund magnet preschool programs in Greater Hartford.
Both sides agreed to resolve the case out of court and last month, an officer ruled in favor of the school districts.
School districts will still have to pay the entire tuition for resident students who attend part-time regional arts magnet school programs.
Attorney Mark J. Sommaruga, who represented several school districts and boards of education, said the ruling is not retroactive, meaning the money paid to the state for the magnet school tuitions in previous years will not be paid back to the districts.
↧