The Connecticut Education Committee is considering a bill to increase state funding for schools for the first time since 2013. Over 300 people signed up to speak during a hearing before the committee, including mayors, school superintendents, educators and students. The bill would increase the amount cities and towns receive for education cost sharing funding from $2 billion to $3 billion. If passed, the bill would provide $1,000 more per student for the following four years, based on inflation. Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam argued that the current system creates disparities in school funding based on geography. The additional funding would come from the state budget, which currently has a surplus of over $4 billion.