Christian Robles, Contributing Photographer

Local leaders are calling on Yale — the largest property owner in New Haven — to increase its contribution to the city’s financially struggling public education system, which is primarily funded through local property taxes. 

Around 60 percent of New Haven’s property is tax-exempt, and Yale holds $4.2 billion of the $9.8 billion property-tax-exempt land in the city as of 2022. In Connecticut, where around 56 percent of education funds come from local funds, cities like New Haven with large tax-exempt landowners struggle to fund their schools, experts told the News. This school year alone, New Haven Public Schools is missing $11.8 million in funds necessary to maintain current programs. 

“Why should the increases that we know our students deserve, why should that continue to fall on a primarily working class community?” said Leslie Blatteau ’97 GRD ’07, president of New Haven’s primary teachers’ union. “At some point something’s got to give. And Yale is the biggest property owner in the city. They’re going to have to take their responsibilities more seriously. And we’re going to have to do a lot of work to ensure that that happens.” 

With the expiration of federal emergency education funds from the pandemic, urban districts across the state are facing large budget deficits, including NHPS. This shortfall is exacerbated by long-standing inequities in the distribution of property tax revenue in the state, according to Michael Morton, deputy executive director for communications and operations at the School + State Finance Project. 

Blatteau praised the efforts of Mayor Justin Elicker and the Board of Alders to increase funding for NHPS in recent years. She identified Yale and the state as the main culprits in the chronic underfunding of NHPS. 

“We need the state of Connecticut and Yale to pay what they owe and right the wrongs of decades,” Blatteau said. 

Many of the most underfunded districts across the state are home to large tax-exempt non-profit landholders, according to Morton. Yale owns large swaths of New Haven. Much of Bridgeport, Hartford and New London are owned by churches, hospitals or governments. 

Tax-exempt landholders like Yale increase property tax rates for everyone else, according to Matt Wilcox, Vice President of the New Haven Board of Education. The mill rate in New Haven for real estate — the standard measure of property tax rates — is $38.5 for every $1000 in assessed property value and $32.46 for motor vehicles. In Westport, a much wealthier city that spends nearly $6000 more per student than New Haven at its largest comprehensive high school, the mill rate is only $18.62 for every $1000 for both types of property. 

Tax-exempt properties and lower-valued real estate result in a smaller tax base that makes funding public schools more difficult. This prevents cities like New Haven from providing the funds their public schools require, Morton said. 

Morton made clear that much of the onus for addressing inequality in education funding lies with the state. He and Mayor Justin Elicker both identified the state’s overreliance on property taxes as the main culprit.  

The state’s school funding model overburdens municipalities with lower real estate values by forcing them to raise property tax rates or invest less in public school education than their wealthier counterparts, Morton said.

NHPS received $11.8 million less for this year’s budget than they had requested from the city to keep current programs afloat. 

Morton wants the state to rethink its funding model and encouraged municipalities to cooperate for the good of all Connecticut students.

“It is the state’s responsibility to address the decades of underfunding that have occurred, and it’s also the responsibility of the state and municipalities to work together to rethink how we fund education in Connecticut,” he told the News.

Rep. Jeff Currey, chair of the education committee at the Connecticut General Assembly, emphasized the work that tax-exempt entities can do to support their local public schools.

“I think what we should be asking is: how do we better utilize those systems to support our districts? Because if we know that a community is not going to see the tax revenue because of the current systems that are set up, then how do we then approach it from a different angle and better use those resources,” Currey said.

In particular, Currey called on tax-exempt organizations to support mentorship and adult-learning programs, especially English language classes, GED courses and citizenship classes. 

Wilcox highlighted the importance of statewide funding inequities, but also described disappointment within the district with Yale’s level of support for NHPS. 

He called for more of a focus on local issues at Yale and more cooperation between the university and the schools.

“They’re two education institutions. This is in their city. These are some future Yale students. It’s being a good citizen, and it’s being a blessing to the town in which they’re in. I know Yale has a global focus often … It’s also nice when they don’t forget that they’re a town living in a city that has a lot of needs,” Wilcox said. 

Wilcox also rejected the notion that NHPS was asking for a “handout” from the university. Instead, he would like to see Yale advocate for NHPS and take on more responsibility for the support of the city’s schools.

He raised the possibility of Yale using its extensive network of donors and access to educational funds to support NHPS. 

“They have a lot of resources that could be tapped,” Wilcox said. “I’m wondering about what’s kind of some strategic partnerships where we could leverage some of Yale’s ability to generate funds on behalf of New Haven Public Schools.”

Wilcox did not respond to repeated requests to elaborate on these suggestions.

Yale’s response 

Each year, Yale makes a “voluntary contribution” to the city of New Haven. In 2021, then-President Peter Salovey agreed to increase the university’s contribution by $52 million over six years, for a total contribution between 2021 and 2028 of $135.4 million. 

Yale also provides a number of scholarships to New Haven students and has admitted an increasing number of NHPS graduates. 

Justin Harmon, communications director for NHPS, praised Yale’s “active effort … to be a good citizen.” In particular, he named Yale’s numerous scholarships for NHPS students and efforts to make Yale educational resources available to New Haven students.

Harmon sees the city’s diminished tax base and high levels of poverty as the main culprits. Yale’s role is less of a question of “accountability” and more one of how much the university should engage with the schools, he said.

Harmon also made clear that the district does not expect to address their financial difficulties with a larger contribution from the university.

“Nobody in a position of responsibility at the school district or the Board of Education has suggested that there ought to be a specific target that would be directed at Yale’s ongoing contributions,” he said.

In May, Elicker called for incoming President Maurie McInnis to commit to increasing the university’s contribution.

“Yale’s … made remarkable steps in recent years with increasing its voluntary payment from $13 million annually to now around $24 million. However, there is so much more need in the city and so much more work to be done, and Yale, as an educational institution, I think, can play an even greater role in helping be a part of addressing the funding of New Haven Public Schools,” Elicker said.

So far, McInnis has not committed to increasing the voluntary payment. 

When asked for comment, Yale’s Office of New Haven Affairs detailed a number of University contributions to the city, including the six-year $135 million voluntary payment, the Pathways programs for New Haven students and New Haven Promise scholarships. The University’s contribution to these educational programs and scholarships will total around $100 million over six years, according to the university. They also linked to an official university webpage on “Public Schools and Youth.” 

The University also detailed a $10 million investment in a Yale Teaching Fellowship to support teachers in NHPS, a part of the Yale & Slavery Research Project. 

Harmon called on all stakeholders in the city, including Yale, to help support NHPS students. 

“We’re going to position the school district where we are asking all of our partners in the city and the state — and Yale is part of our extended community — to do what they can to try to sustain our public schools for the sake of our school children in the way that they best can. ” Harmon told the News. “As a larger community, we need to do better by these students.”

New Haven Public Schools serves over 19,000 students in the city.

Correction, Sept. 29: This article has been corrected to clarify how Connecticut schools are funded, including how much New Haven property is tax exempt and the percent of funds that come from local government.